PARISH  PROBLEMS 


^^ 


HINTS  AND  HELPS 

FOR  THE  PE  OPLE 

^  Of  THE  CHURCHES 


£ibrar^  of  ^he  theological  ^t^mimvy 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 


1887 
Parish  problems 


PARISH  PROBLEMS 


PARISH  PROBLEMS 


HINTS  AND  HELPS 
FOR  THE  PEOPLE 
OF  THE  CHURCHES 


JAN  31  1969 


EDITED    BY 


WASHINGTON   GLADDEN 


NEW-YORK 
THE   CENTURY   CO. 


Copyright,  1887, 
By  The  Century  Co. 


The  De  Vinne  Press. 


CONTENTS 


The  Pastor's  Call 

PAGE 

I  Candidating  and  Coquetry.  Margaret  Woods  Lawrence 1 

II  Vagrant  Parsons Washington  Gladden 10 

III  Stealing  A  Minister "              "        15 

IV  Ministerial  Bureaux "              "        21 

V  The  Pastor  and  his  Pay Margaret  Woods  Laivrence. ...  26 

VI  Dues  not  Donations  "             "           "        41 

VII  The  Pastor's  Vacation "              "           "        47 

VIII  Finally,  Brethren Washington  Gladden 51 

IX  Getting  Eid  of  the  Fastor. Margaret  Woods  Lawrence 55 


II 

Parish  Business 

I  Objects,  Methods,  and  Die-  )  ^,^^^.^^  ^^^  

FICULTIES S 

II  Organization,     Spiritual  )       /,       -  //  ^ 

AND  Secular S  

III  Officers  and  Membership.  . .      "  "  73 

IV  Administration "  "  81 

V  Financial  and  Legal "  "  87 

VI  Parish  Ways  and  Means  . .  .Margaret  Woods  Lawrence 96 


III 

Parish  Buildings 

'   '^iLr^i.s':^^^™"!^-'^-''-'''- 105 

II  Style  of  the  Building "         "        109 

III  The  Interior "         "        112 


VI 

PAGE 

IV  Heating  and  Ventilation.  E.  C.  Gardner 116 

V  Shams  and  Affectations..  . .     "         "        121 

VI  Unproductive  Property.  . .  .Austin  Abbott 124 


IV 

The  Pastor  at  Home 


I  The  Parsonage Margaret  Woods  Lawrence 129 

II  The  Pastor's  Wife 

III  The  Pastor's  Children 

IV  Unreasonable  Demands 

V  A  Word  with  Mrs.  Grundy 

VI  Parish  Courtesies 


136 
142 
146 
151 
160 


The  Pastor  at  Work 


I 

II 
III 

IV 

V 
VI 


Study  and  Pulpit Theodore  T.  Hunger,  D.  D 169 

Pastoral  Visitation Lewellyn  Pratt,  D.  D 179 

Funerals Margaret  Woods  Laivrence 191 

Organizing    the    Church  )  ^.^^^^^  r»   r ««.,„•«   t^   t^  oca 

FOR  Work \  ^^^^^^  ^'  ^««^*^^»  ^' ^ 204 

The  Church  Porch. Beuen  TJiomas,  D.  D 210 

The  Pastor  and  the  Com- 
munity  


I  Frank  P.  Woodbury,  D.  D 216 


VI 

Helping  the  Pastor 


Cooperation 
Pastor 


WITH        THE 


Austin  Abbott 221 


"  ^lN(f  .''.':^'''''^.''^''  .?^  ^^''^:  \  ^^sMngton  Gladden 226 

III  The  Duty  of  Taking  Office  "  "       230 

IV  Parish  Visiting "  "       .• 233 

V  Dropped  Stitches "  "       236 

VI  Sextons Margaret  Woods  Lawrence 240 


vn 

YII 
The  People  at  Work 

PAGE 

I  How  TO  Begin  Church  Work.  Washington  Gladden 247 

II  The  Midweek  Service H.  M.  Scudder,  D.  D 253 

III  Prayer  Meetings Washington  Gladden 257 

IV  Fellowship  Meetings "  "      269 

V  A  Church  Sociable "  "      272 

VI  The  Annual  Church  Meet- 


ING S                                             2"^^ 

TO         WOMAK^S  WORK    IN  THE  Lo-  j  ^     jj    jj^^^j.^^^   ^^ ^g^ 

VIII     Man's  Work  in  the  Local  >  ^^    ,.     ^     ^7   ,,  ^^^ 

Church                                 S  ^^^'^^^^9^^''^  Gladden 289 


IX 


^^Fi'eld  ^.''^^.^''.  ''^^.^'''^.  \^'  ^'  ^«2/^^^'  ^-  ^ 295 


Mission  Work  in  the  Home 
Field 


Lyman  Abbott,  D.  D 303 


XI  Evangelistic  Work  Charles  H.  Richards,  D.  D 311 

XII  The  Needs  of  the  Country  )  ^  ^  ^.^  „.  ^^  ^ 

Churches K '  ^'  ^"^^*^^ 317 

XIII  Societies  of  Christian  En- 


deavor S  -^^'^^^^  ^-  ^^^^'^ 324 

XIV  Broad  Church  or  Narrow  )  ttt^^t.,-,,^,^^  m..^/i^..  000 

Church  ?  \  ^^^^'^^^^0^^  Gladden 332 

XV  The  Church  and  the  Com-  )  j^  ^^  Satterlee,  D.D 336 

munity S 

XVI  Lajent^^Power     IN     theJ^^^.^;^^^,.^,,^^^,^ 343 

XVII  Cooperation  with   Other)     /,  u         n  o-?: 

Churches ^  "^^^ 


VIII 
The  Sunday-School 

'  ^''xf.^ln^^^/''''  '^^^  ^''^'  \  John  H.  Vincent,  D.D 361 

day-School S 

II  The  Main  Purpose  of  the  >    .    v^  o  1  „  -m  ..   r»   /^  o«- 

SCHOOL  \A.F.  Schauffler,  D.  D 36o 

III  Organization  and  Work "         "  "      368 

IV  The  Lesson John  H.  Vincent,  D.  D 374 

V  Grading  the  School "         "  "     378 


VI  The  Young  People  and  the 

Sunday-School 

VII  Sunday-School  Benevolence        "  "  "     386 


Sunday-School ]  "^^"^ 


VIU 

AGE 

VIII  Performances  and  Prizes.  .  A.  F.  Scliauffler,  D.D 390 

IX  The  Sunday-School  Library  A.  E.  Dunning,  D,  D 393 

X  The  Sunday-School  Music.  .  W.  F.  Slier  win 396 


IX 

Worship 

I  The  Worship  of  the  Lord's  )  Washington  Gladden 401 

II  How  Many  Services? Margaret  Woods  Lawrence 410 

III  The  Service  of  Song Washington  Gladden  422 

IV  The  Organist Waldo  S.  Pratt 425 

V  Instruments  and    Instru-  )         //           //          434 

mental  Music ) 

VI  Congregational  Singing —        "          "         441 

VII  The  Choir "           "          448 

viii     Hymn-Books  "           "          456 

IX  Responsive  Services Richard  G.  Greene 462 

X  The  Lord's  Day  Service —        "              "       469 

XI  The  Christian  Year "              "       476 


EDITOR'S  PEEFACE 


THE  editor  of  this  volume  is  the  author  of  but  a  small  portion  of 
it.  The  table  of  contents  reveals  the  authorship  of  the  several 
sections.  It  may,  therefore,  be  permitted  to  the  editor  to  speak 
rather  more  warmly  about  the  book  than  an  author  is  wont  to  do. 

The  labor  of  many  years,  the  wisdom  of  many  minds,  and  the 
fruitage  of  a  rich  and  manifold  experience  are  harvested  in  these 
pages.  The  purpose  has  been  to  make  a  book  that  every  pastor 
would  wish  to  see  in  the  hands  of  every  member  of  his  flock,  and 
that  no  chui'ch  officer  —  no  elder  or  deacon  or  warden,  no  steward 
or  trustee,  no  Sunday-school  superintendent  or  teacher,  no  mission- 
worker,  no  chorister  or  organist,  no  active  helper  in  any  department 
of  church  work  —  could  afford  to  do  without.  As  the  editor  has  been 
reading  the  proofs,  his  hope  has  strengthened  that  this  purpose  will, 
in  some  good  degree,  be  realized.  If  this  book  does  not  find  a  large 
place  waiting  for  it,  and  does  not  prove  an  effective  force  in  shaping 
the  life  and  work  of  the  church,  those  who  have  been  responsible  for 
its  preparation  will  be  greatly  disappointed. 

Many  things  ought  to  be  said  to  the  people  of  every  church  that 
their  pastor  cannot  say.  The  relation  between  pastor  and  people  is 
one  of  gi-eat  delicacy  j  the  happiness  of  both  parties  depends  on  con- 
siderateness  and  justice  —  not  to  say  kindness — in  many  matters 
with  respect  to  which  the  pastor's  hps  are  sealed.  If  these  obliga- 
tions are  disregarded  there  is  suffering ;  yet  their  fulfillment  cannot 
be  demanded ;  unless  they  are  spontaneously  discharged  there  is  no 
life  in  them ;  the  moment  any  complaint  arises  on  either  hand,  the 
perfection  of  the  relation  is  marred.  The  attempt  is  made,  in  this 
volume,  to  set  forth  the  ethics,  the  courtesies,  and  the  proprieties  of 
the  pastoral  relation  in  such  a  way  that  the  people  may  be  aided  in 
the  solution  of  that  somewhat  intricate  parish  problem  —  how  to 
secure  a  good  minister,  how  to  treat  him,  how  to  keep  him,  how  to 

ix 


X  EDITOR'S  PREFACE 

work  with  him,  how  to  send  him  away  in  peace  when  the  time  comes 
that  he  must  go. 

Every  church  has  a  secular  side  (just  as  every  factory  has  a  spirit- 
ual side) ;  and  the  legal  relations  and  business  interests  of  the  organ- 
ization present  matters  of  great  importance.  They  are  often  dimly 
understood  and  clumsily  managed.  Clear  ideas  and  right  methods 
in  this  department  are  greatly  to  be  desired.  The  second  chapter 
undertakes  to  supply  this  need.  It  has  been  prepared  by  an  emi- 
nent lawyer,  who  has  long  been  an  active  member  of  one  of  the 
great  churches  of  New  York,  who  has  been  often  consulted  on 
ecclesiastical  business,  and  who  has  given  much  thought  to  questions 
of  this  nature.  It  is  doubted  whether  a  statement  as  complete  and 
as  clear  as  this  chapter  contains,  of  the  very  things  which  every  man 
who  is  interested  in  the  business  Hf  e  of  a  church  most  needs  to  know, 
can  be  found  anywhere  else. 

Every  church  has  or  hopes  for  a  tabernacle  to  dwell  in,  and  the 
building  problem  is  one  of  great  interest.  Toward  the  solution  of 
this  problem  an  architect,  whose  pen  is  as  pointed  as  his  pencil  is 
cunning,  has  contributed,  in  the  third  chapter,  a  mass  of  piquant 
and  practical  counsel. 

The  fourth  chapter  finds  the  pastor  at  home,  and  discusses  in  a 
hvely,  homely,  sympathetic  way  the  questions  concerning  the 
domestic  life  of  the  parsonage,  and  the  relations  of  the  people  to 
the  pastor  and  his  family.  The  wisdom  of  the  ^'  Sunny  Side  "  and 
^'  Shady  Side"  literature  of  a  former  time  wiU  be  found  condensed 
in  this  chapter. 

In  the  fifth  chapter  the  pastor  is  seen  at  work  5  and  some  of  the 
wisest  of  our  teachers  offer  hints  about  methods  of  pastoral  service. 
Doubtless  the  pastor  will  be  thankful  for  these  counsels ;  but  they 
are  intended  for  the  people  more  than  the  pastor ;  they  show  the 
people  what  the  work  of  the  pastor  is,  that  they  may  give  him  a  fair 
chance  to  do  it. 

In  the  sixth  chapter  the  people  are  pointed  to  several  ways  in 
which  they  may  help  the  pastor,  not  merely  by  giving  him  room  to 
work  in,  and  properly  valuing  his  work,  but  also  by  practical 
assistance  in  his  labors. 

The  seventh  chapter  goes  to  the  heart  of  the  matter ;  for  the  cen- 
tral purpose  of  the  book  is  to  set  the  people  at  work,  and  to  show 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE  xi 

them  wliat  to  do.     The  seventeen  sections  of  this  chapter  cover  a 
good  part  of  the  active  Uf  e  of  the  working  church. 

The  Sunday-school  is  the  theme  of  the  eighth  chapter,  and  the 
whole  of  it  was  written  for  this  work  by  men  who  are  recognized  as 
leaders  in  this  field.  A  more  compact  and  practical  discussion  of 
Sunday-school  problems  it  would  be  difficult  to  find. 

The  final  chapter  treats  of  worship,  offering  counsels  respecting 
the  conduct  of  the  services  of  the  Lord's  house,  and  seeking  to  put 
the  proper  emphasis  upon  this  feature  of  the  Ufe  of  the  church. 

It  will  be  observed  that  this  book  is  intended  for  the  people,  and 
only  incidentally  for  the  pastor.  It  is  calculated  for  the  meridian 
of  the  pew,  not  for  that  of  the  pulpit.  Pastors  are  welcome  to  any 
good  they  may  find  in  it ;  but  their  profiting  will  chiefly  come  from 
the  influence  that  it  may  have  upon  the  life  of  the  people.  The  pur- 
pose of  the  book  is  to  help  the  man  who  stands  in  the  pulpit  by 
showing  his  people  what  are  their  right  relations  to  him  and  to  one 
another,  and  to  those  without  their  fellowship,  and  to  all  the  great 
services  that  demand  their  powers,  and  by  stimulating  and  guiding 
and  developing  the  spiritual  life  and  the  practical  efficiency  of  the 
church. 

One  suggestion  respecting  the  use  of  the  book  may  not  be  amiss. 
The  pastor  who  glances  over  the  table  of  contents  will  discover 
among  the  titles  of  the  seventy-seven  sections  quite  a  number  of 
good  prayer-meeting  topics.  If  this  book  were  in  the  hands  of  many 
of  his  people  it  might  furnish  the  midweek  service  with  themes  and 
thoughts  for  useful  conferences. 

The  preparation  of  this  volume  was  begun  by  Margaret  Woods 
Lawrence,  an  elect  lady  who,  as  maiden,  wife,  and  widow,  has  borne 
names  endeared  to  the  church  at  large,  and  who  has  usually  pre- 
ferred to  appear  under  a  mask  that  has  grown  transparent  with 
time,  —  the  literary  nom  de  plume  of  "Meta  Lander."  For  many 
years  she  wrought,  collecting  the  materials  for  such  a  workj 
finally,  the  manuscript  was  purchased  of  her  by  the  publishers, 
with  permission  to  use  any  portions  of  it  that  the  editor  might 
find  available.  The  sections  with  her  signature  have  been  printed 
without  alteration,  except  that  some  of  them  have  been  abridged. 
The  fresh  and  readable  style,  the  fund  of  anecdote,  and  the  abun- 
dant and  felicitous   quotations  make   these   sections   entertaining 


xu 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE 


reading.  One  entire  chapter  —  that  upon  "  The  Pastor  at  Home  "  — 
is  from  the  pen  of  this  gifted  lady. 

It  was  deemed  wiser,  however,  to  enhst  many  hands  in  the  pro- 
duction of  this  book.  No  single  mind,  however  well  furnished  by 
study  and  experience,  could  touch  with  light  all  the  points  of  this 
wide-ranging  discussion.  The  reader  will  therefore  find  in  the  table 
of  contents  a  goodly  number  of  names  well  known  to  the  churches. 
No  attempt  has  been  made  to  shape  the  utterances  of  these  writers ; 
each  man  has  spoken  his  own  mind  on  the  theme  assigned  him  ;  and 
differences  of  opinion  may  be  discovered.  Under  these  cross-lights 
the  reader  will  be  able  to  discern  the  truth. 

A  few  of  these  sections  have  appeared  in  *'  The  Century  Mag- 
azine" and  in  the  columns  of  some  other  periodicals;  but  almost 
all  of  the  matter  is  now  first  pubhshed.  It  is  sent  forth  in  this 
comely  form  with  the  hope  and  the  expectation  that  it  wiU  find  its 
way  into  thousands  of  parishes  and  tens  of  thousands  of  Christian 
homes ;  that  it  will  aid  in  solving  many  knotty  parish  problems ; 
that  it  will  promote  the  unity  and  the  peace  of  the  churches,  and 
that  it  will  help  to  build  in  the  earth  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

WASHINGTON  GLADDEN. 

Columbus,  May  24,  1887. 


THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 


CANDIDATING   AND    COQUETRY 


w 

1 

i 

^4s 

UCH  has  been  written  and  said  about 
ministerial  candidating  and  coquetry. 
Candidating  has  been  pronounced  a  sys- 
tem "absolutely,  hopelessly,  irretrievably 
vicious,"  and  coquetry  represented  as  its 
legitimate  outgrowth.  That  there  is  a 
great  deal  of  truth  in  the  assertion  can- 
not fairly  be  denied.  Yet  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  inquire 
whether  the  practice  is  inherently  vicious,  or  whether  much 
of  the  evil  is  not  owing  to  the  strange  times  on  which  we 
have  fallen. 

Our  venerated  Puritan  fathers  were  in  the  habit  of  candi- 
dating in  a  single  place,  not  only  for  one,  two,  or  three  weeks, 
but  for  three  or  six  months.  And  I  have  never  learned  that 
the  respect  and  reverence  so  fully  accorded  them  were  one  jot 
diminished  thereby.  Indeed,  the  character  and  bearing  of 
these  men  were  such  as  to  command  the  respect  of  the  com- 
munity. When  one  of  the  Connecticut  fathers,  Dr.  Calhoun, 
was  preaching  in  his  young  days  as  a  candidate,  certain  ones 
called  on  him,  inquiring  if  he  had  any  property,  wishing,  as  he 
surmised,  to  find  out  how  small  a  salary  would  meet  his  actual 
needs.  To  these  inquiries  he  replied,  "  I  have  a  horse,  with 
saddle  and  bridle,  and  money  enough  to  get  away  from  this 
place."  He  received  a  call,  was  pastor  there  for  more  than 
fifty  years,  and  at  last  died  among  them,  honored  and  lamented 
by  all.     Neither  that  man  nor  his  office  was  lowered  by  his 

1 


2  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

eandidating.  What,  then,  has  brought  the  custom  into  such 
disrepute  f 

Some  contend  that  the  trouble  arises  from  the  fact  that  the 
profession  is  greatly  overcrowded.  Says  one:  ''More  than 
half  of  all  the  ordained  ministers,  expensively  and  laboriously 
educated,  tested  and  approved,  are  either  without  charge,  or 
engaged  in  some  other  employment  than  the  ministry.  Thus, 
many  are  watching  for  settlements  as  they  that  watch  for  the 
morning.  The  competition  is  often  unministerial,  and  some- 
times positively  disgraceful."  Hence,  it  is  plausibly  argued  that 
if  there  were  a  greater  scarcity  of  clergymen  they  would  be 
better  appreciated,  and  more  eagerly  sought  after.  Over 
against  this  explanation  may  be  placed  the  perpetual  cry  for 
more  laborers  which  is  wafted  on  every  breeze  from  aU  parts 
of  the  broad  field. 

The  evil  is  caused  in  part,  no  doubt,  by  certain  ministerial 
loafers,  men  who  belong  to  the  class  of  everlasting  candidates, 
and  who  constitute  one  of  the  plagues  with  which  the  church 
is  aflicted.  Lovers  of  self,  they  know  nothing  of  heroism, 
nor  of  sacrifice,  and  they  hang  about  the  prosperous  parishes, 
making  the  impression  that  there  is  a  large  surplus  of  ministers. 

A  good  man,  in  reply  to  a  letter  suggesting  a  candidate  for 
the  vacant  pulpit  of  a  large  church,  wrote  that  he  had  added 
the  name  to  his  list  of  sixty  applicants,  remarking  that  he 
thought  it  high  time  to  pray  that  the  Lord  would  raise  up 
some  little  ministers  who  would  be  willing  to  fill  the  little 
vacancies.  Is  there  not  a  whole  chapter  of  wisdom  in  this 
suggestion  for  some  of  our  aspiring  young  students  ? 

The  present  style  of  eandidating  bears  particularly  hard  on 
our  older  clergymen.  Think  of  the  wounds  it  inflicts  on  self- 
respect  !  Think  of  the  suffering  a  man  of  sensitiveness  must 
endure  in  running  such  a  gauntlet !  And  his  wife,  too  !  Here 
is  a  refined  woman,  wedded  to  a  clergyman  of  fine  native  gifts 
and  high  culture,  but  who  has  not  the  pushing  qualities  nec- 
essary to  make  his  way.  In  some  other  occupation  he  might 
easily  have  earned  a  handsome  competency,  but  in  the  minis- 
try it  has  been  a  life-long  struggle  for  his  daily  bread.  And 
now,  at  the  age  of  fifty,  perhaps,  circumstances  make  it  his 
duty  to  resign  his  post.     Of  course  nothing  remains  for  him 


CANDIDATING   AND    COQUETRY  3 

but  to  candidate  for  another  settlement,  putting  himself,  as  it 
were,  on  the  auction  block  for  bidders. 

The  unfortunate  thing  about  it  is  that  the  balancing  of  the 
scales  often  depends  upon  two  or  three  persons.  They  may 
be  uneducated,  and  even  illiterate,  but  if  they  are  the  moneyed 
men,  with  them  is  the  power  of  opening  and  shutting.  It  may 
be  a  small  matter  that  decides  them  —  the  voice,  the  manner, 
some  personal  fancy  ;  but,  whatever  it  is,  their  decision  is  often 
final.  As  the  support  of  the  minister  comes  mainly  from 
them,  they  must  have  their  way. 

The  state  of  things  we  are  considering  cannot  fail  to  harm 
any  parish.  The  people  are  sure  to  be  informed  as  to  the 
long  and  ever-lengthening  roll  of  candidates,  and  it  has  the 
same  influence  upon  them  that  a  rush  of  suitors  has  upon  a 
young  maiden  who  does  not  know  her  own  mind  —  it  makes 
them  giddy  and  coquettish.     What  else  could  be  expected  ? 

In  dealing  with  such  parishes,  some  ministers  are  tempted  to 
enter  into  disgraceful  competitions  and  to  resort  to  unworthy 
contrivance,  if  not  to  actual  subterfuges.  This  gives  color  to 
the  charge  of  clerical  coquetry.  Of  all  sorts  of  coquetry  this 
is  the  most  abhorrent.  For  a  minister  to  encourage  a  call 
for  the  sake  of  playing  off  one  parish  against  another,  and 
thus  procuring  a  larger  salary,  is  simply  scandalous. 

A  case  is  related  of  a  Western  church  which,  by  hard  exer- 
tion, raised  money  to  defray  the  traveling  expenses  of  a  brilliant 
Eastern  man  who  charmed  them,  but  whose  subsequent  course 
proved  that  all  he  had  sought  was  means  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  a  desired  journey.  This  is  a  serious  charge,  and 
it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  man's  conduct  was  not  correctly 
interpreted.  Other  cases  are  cited  of  ministers  virtually 
accepting  a  call,  and  then  setting  it  aside  for  a  louder  one, 
with  a  larger  salary ; — in  other  words,  jilting  one  parish  for 
the  sake  of  another. 

Without  inquiring  into  the  antecedents  of  these  cases,  I 
will  adduce  one  of  a  different  character.  After  some  corre- 
spondence and  not  a  little  urging  on  the  part  of  a  church,  a 
young  pastor  was  induced  to  journey  some  three  hundred 
miles  that  he  might  preach  as  a  candidate.  Before  his  return 
home,  one  of  the  deacons  assured  him  of  the  general  wish  that 


+ 


4  THE    PASTOR'S   CALL 

he  should  labor  among  them.  He  also  inquired  if  there  was 
any  uncertainty  as  to  his  acceptance  of  a  call,  informing  him 
that  one  man,  who  had  promised  to  come,  had  disappointed 
them.  Being  satisfied  on  this  point,  the  deacon  bade  him 
adieu,  assuring  him  that  he  should  soon  hear  from  them.  Six 
weeks  passed,  and  no  letter !  And  finally  it  came  out  that 
after  he  left,  two  other  candidates  made  their  appearance,  and 
that,  a  meeting  being  called  to  decide  among  them  all,  the 
third  one  was  chosen.  The  narrator,  who  vouches  for  this 
story  as  fact,,  says^  in  conclusion :  '^  If  this  is  not  church 
coquetry,  what  is  it?  It  looks  like  the  conduct  of  a  young 
miss  in  her  Heens/  who  should  get  as  many  lovers  at  her 
knee  as  possible,  and  then  take  her  choice  !  Yet  it  was  the 
action  of  a  staid  New  England  church." 

As  a  remedy  for  this  deplorable  state  of  things,  it  has  been 
maintained  that  clergymen  ought  to  say  as  a  body  :  '^  We  will 
do  no  more  eandidating  ;  you  must  find  out  about  us  as  best 
you  can ;  but  we  will  no  longer  ti^avel  over  the  country  can- 
vassing for  office.'^ 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  argued,  and  not  without  reason, 
that,  in  a  certain  sense,  eandidating  is  common  to  all  the  pro- 
fessions ;  that  the  doctor  when  he  hangs  out  his  sign,  and 
the  lawyer  when  he  makes  his  first  plea,  are  as  really  candi- 
dates before  the  community  as  the  minister  who  preaches  in 
a  vacant  pulpit.  So,  also,  whoever  allows  himself  to  be 
nominated  to  a  chair  of  instruction  in  any  of  our  educational 
institutions,  or  to  some  vacant  ofiice  in  Church  or  State,  is  a 
virtual  candidate  for  that  chair  or  office,  and  that  often  while 
knowing  that  there  are  rivals  in  the  field.  ^^What  other 
course  is  open  ?  "  it  is  asked. 

This  reasoning  does  not  meet  the  difficulty.  If  the  present 
style  of  ministerial  eandidating  were  no  worse  than  that  prac- 
ticed in  the  other  professions,  little  would  need  to  be  said. 
But  it  is  far  otherwise.  By  old  age,  or  from  dissatisfaction, 
a  minister  is  removed.  Instantly  the  pulpit  is  transformed 
into  a  stage  over  which  passes  a  long  series  of  ministerial 
figures.  Judging  from  the  comments  and  criticisms  and 
animadversions,  your  instruction  and  edification  have  no  part 
in  the  programme.  Their  business  is  to  exhibit  themselves 
that  you  may  decide  which  of  them  is  the  best  actor.    By  a 


CANDIDATING   AND    COQUETRY  5 

careful  noting  of  the  form,  the  face,  the  tone  of  voice,  the 
gestures,  the  style,  the  flowers  and  the  flourishes,  the  way  of 
coming  on,  the  way  of  stepping  off,  and  the  manner  of  putting 
things, —  by  noting  these  as  displayed  often  on  a  single 
Sabbath  you  are  to  decide  on  the  best  performer.  From  this 
rapidly  passing  train,  your  old  men  and  women,  your  young 
men  and  maidens  are  to  select  the  one  who  shall  break  for 
them  the  bread  of  life.  A  sorry  chance  if  he  happens  to  de- 
cline your  call,  thus  subjecting  you  to  a  repetition  of  the  dread- 
ful process,  and  leading,  perhaps,  to  incurable  divisions. 

What  must  be  the  result  of  such  a  course  to  both  minister 
and  parish  ?  Will  not  the  spirituality  of  the  man  be  inevitably 
lowered  ?  WiU  not  his  self-respect  be  sorely  wounded,  if  not 
utterly  destroyed  ?  And  with  the  mass  of  church-goers  what 
a  crop  of  self-conceit  and  captious  criticism  is  likely  to  be 
fostered!  What  a  melancholy  depreciation  of  the  sacred 
office  of  the  ministry  and  of  its  noble  objects  !  Can  all  this 
be  a  fitting  preparation  for  receiving  into  good  and  honest 
hearts  the  seed  of  the  divine  Husbandman  ? 

We  read  of  one  Congregational  church  in  New  England, 
which  during  three  years  heard  no  less  than  two  hundred  and 
forty  candidates.  At  last,  when  all  were  apparently  united  in 
the  choice  of  a  pastor,  the  installation  services  were  inter- 
rupted and  finally  broken  up  on  account  of  an  opposing 
faction.  The  editor  who  reports  the  case,  pertinently  adds : 
"  A  congregation  that  has  enjoyed  the  Christian  amusement 
of  criticising  two  hundred  and  forty  ministers  will  never  settle 
down  to  the  monotony  of  the  Gospel  expounded  by  a  regular 
pastor." 

Another  dire  experience  of  a  similar  kind  is  thus  narrated: 
"A  certain  church  of  which  I  am  cognizant  has  been  for 
nearly  a  year  without  a  pastor,  during  which  time  the  pulpit 
has  been  chiefly  supplied  by  seminary  students,  a  flitting 
phantasmagoria  of  which  it  is  difficult  to  retain  any  one 
figure  distinctly. 

"  I  judge  that  the  Senior  Class  has  been  pretty  thoroughly 
represented ;  surely,  unless  it  is  an  extraordinarily  large  one, 
there  cannot  be  many  left  behind.  And  this  is  quite  fit  and 
proper,  and  we  are  far  from  complaining  of  it,  for  while  we 
want  preaching,  they  want  practice.     But  our  grievance  is 


6  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

this,  that  we  are  now  apparently  no  nearer  settling  a  minister 
than  when  we  first  began.  Not  that  we  cannot  fix  upon  one  to 
suit  us;  as  to  that,  we  should  be  glad  to  settle  them  all — but 
when  the  suggestion  is  made  that  a  call  be  extended  to  any 
particular  individual,  Mr.  Oldboy,  for  example,  the  reply  is, 
'•  Oh,  it  would  be  of  no  use.  Mr.  Oldboy  could  command  a 
salary  of  two  thousand  dollars  if  he  had  his  health.  We  have 
never  yet  given  quite  eight  hundred.' 

"  '  Why  not  call  Mr.  Black  or  Mr.  Grey,  then  ? '  A  doleful 
shake  of  the  head.  ^None  of  these  smart  young  students 
would  accept  a  salary  of  less  than  a  thousand  j  most  of  them 
look  for  twelve  or  fifteen  hundred.' 

^' '  Then  we  are  reduced  to  the  alternative  of  raising  our 
salary  or  calling  a  stupid  minister  ? '  we  observe.  ^  Oh,  no,' 
is  the  reply,  with  a  visible  brightening  up.  ^  We  may  be  able 
to  get  an  older  man — one  who  has  been  settled  before  —  for 
less.     Young  preachers  are  in  great  demand,  you  know.' 

"  Yes,  I  do  know,  for  I  have  heard  the  same  thing  over  and 
over,  from  persons  of  the  most  opposite  tastes  and  habits, 
from  old  and  young,  male  and  female. 

"  Meanwhile,  between  one  thing  and  another,  the  church 
has  small  prospect  of  a  pastor,  young  or  old,  desirable  or  unde- 
sirable, and  as  there  are  six  or  seven  Congregational  churches 
within  ten  miles  of  us  in  the  same  condition,  there  is  reason 
to  fear  that  this  whole  region  will  soon  become  missionary 
ground." 

In  that  admirable  book,  '^  Laicus,"  a  letter  from  a  clergjTnan 
on  this  subject  is  introduced  : 

*'  The  minister  is  ordained  to  preach,  to  convert  impenitent  sinners,  and 
to  build  up  and  strengthen  Christians.  Do  you  suppose  I  should  do 
either  if  I  came  to  Wheathedge  to  preach  as  a  candidate  ?  Not  at  all.  The 
people  would  come  to  criticise,  and  I  should  go  to  be  criticised.  They 
would  be  judged,  and  would  expect  to  put  me  through  my  ministerial 
paces  to  try  me.  'Come,'  the  congi-egation  says  in  effect,  to  me,  'let  us  see 
how  you  can  preach  ;  exhibit  your  proficiency  in  the  doctrines,  try  your 
skill  in  arousing  sinners,  see  what  you  can  do  in  interesting  the  saints, 
read  us  a  hymn  or  two  as  a  test  of  your  elocution,  and  display  to  us  your 
gifts  in  prayer ;  and  then,  when  the  service  is  over,  spend  a  week  and 
take  tea  with  two  or  three  of  our  principal  families,  and  show  us  what 
your  social  qualifications  are.' 


CANDIDATING    AND    COQUETRY  7 

"  Ima^ne  a  client  coming  to  you  and  saying,  '  I  have  an  important  ease 
to  be  tried,  sir,  and  I  think  of  placing  it  in  your  hands.  Will  you  oblige 
me  by  making  a  neat  little  speech  ?  I  want  to  see  what  kind  of  a  speech 
you  can  make.'" 

A  few  other  passages  follow  from  the  same  book : 

*•  We  are  in  a  sorry  condition  here  at  Wheathedge.  For  weeks  we  have 
been,  without  the  Gospel.  I  do  not  mean  that  literally  the  preaching  of 
the  Gospel  has  been  dispensed  with  .  .  .  but  listening  to  a  candidate  and 
listening  to  the  Gospel  are  two  very  different  things.  The  candidate 
preaches  to  show  us  how  he  can  do  it.  We  listen  to  hear  how  he  can  do 
it.  From  the  moment  he  enters  the  pulpit  all  eyes  are  fixed  upon  him. 
His  congregation  is  all  attention.  Let  him  not  flatter  himself.  It  is  as 
critics,  not  as  sinners,  that  we  listen.  We  turn  round  to  see  how  he  walks 
up  the  aisle.  Is  his  wife  so  unfortunate  as  to  accompany  him  ?  We  ana- 
lyze her  bonnet,  her  dress,  her  features,  her  figure.  If  not,  he  monopolizes 
all  attention.  In  five  minutes  we  can  tell  you  the  cut  of  his  coat,  the 
character  of  his  cravat,  the  shape  of  his  collar,  the  way  he  wears  his  hair. 
If  he  has  any  peculiar  habit,  woe  betide  him  !  he  is  odd.  If  he  has  not, 
woe  betide  him!  he  is  commonplace  and  conventional.  He  rises  to 
invoke  the  blessing  of  God.  If  he  goes  to  the  throne  of  grace,  he  goes 
alone.  We  go  no  farther  than  the  pulpit.  We  tell  one  another  after- 
wards that  he  is  eloquent  in  prayer,  or  that  his  prayers  are  very 
common.  If  his  style  is  solemn,  we  condemn  him  as  stilted;  if  it  is 
conversational,  we  condemn  him  as  too  colloquial  and  familiar.  He  reads 
a  hymn.  We  compare  his  elocution  with  that  of  our  favorites.  We  can, 
any  of  us,  tell  you  Jiow  he  does  it.  But  ichat  he  says,  there  are  not  half 
a  dozen  who  can  tell.  Does  he  tell  us  of  our  sins  ?  we  do  not  look  at 
our  own  hearts,  but  at  his  picture,  to  see  if  it  is  painted  well.  Does  he 
hold  before  us  the  Cross  ?  We  do  not  bow  before  it ;  we  ask,  is  it  well 
carved  and  draped?  The  Judgment  is  only  a  dramatic  poem;  the 
Crucifixion,  only  a  tableau.  So,  though  we  have  preaching  we  have  no 
Gospel  at  Wheathedge. 

"  For  myseK,  I  am  in  despair.  I  made  no  serious  objection  to  being  put 
on  the  Supply  Committee.  I  found  the  task  a  comparatively  easy  one. 
I  had  understood  that  there  was  no  lack  of  ministers  wanting  places. 
There  is  none  ;  we  have  applications  three  or  four  deep,  of  all  sorts  and 
kinds,  from  parishless  clergymen.  But  such  a  jury  as  the  Wheathedge 
congregation  affords,  I  never  saw,  and  hope  never  to  see  again.  I  only 
wish  there  was  some  law  to  treat  them  as  other  juries  are  treated  —  shut 
them  up  in  the  jury-room  till  they  agree  on  a  verdict. 

''The  first  minister  was  too  old;  he  would  not  suit  the  young  folks. 
The  second,  just  out  of  the  seminary,  was  too  young ;  the  old  folks  said 
he  had  not  experience.  The  third  had  experience.  .  .  But  he  was  a 
bachelor.    The  people  pretty  universally  declared  that  the  minister  should 


8  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

have  a  wife  and  a  house.  The  women  all  said  there  must  be  somebody  to 
organize  the  sewing  circles,  and  to  lead  the  female  prayer-meetings.  The 
fourth  was  married,  but  he  had  three  or  four  children ;  we  could  not  sup- 
port him.  The  fifth  was  a  most  learned  man,  who  told  us  the  original 
Greek  or  Hebrew  of  his  texts,  and,  morning  or  evening,  never  came  nearer 
to  America  than  Rome  under  Augustus  Csesar.  He  was  dull.  The  sixth 
afforded  us  a  most  brilliant  pyrotechnic  display.  He  spluttered,  and 
fizzed,  and  banged,  as  though  Fourth  of  July  himself  had  taken  orders 
and  gone  to  preaching.  The  young  people  were  carried  away ;  but  the 
old  folks  all  said  he  was  sensational. 

''  Then,  besides  those  we  have  heard,  there  are  several  we  have  talked 

about.     There  is  the  Rev.  Mr.  C ,  who  has  the  reputation  of  being  a 

most  excellent  pastor.  He  is  indefatigable  in  visiting  the  sick,  in  com- 
forting the  afflicted,  in  dealing  with  the  recreant  and  unconverted.  But 
Mr.  Wheaton  says  emphatically  he  will  never  do  for  our  people.  *  He  is 
no  preacher,  and  our  people  demand  first-rate  preaching.  We  must  have 
a  man  that  can  draw.' 

*'We  talked  over  Mr.  K .     He  is  a  rare  preacher,  by  all  accounts. 

.  .  .  He  preached  once  or  twice  on  exchange  with  our  old  pastor  before 
he  left.  But  Solomon  Hardcap  would  not  hear  of  him,  and  even  Deacon 
Goodsole  shook  his  head  at  the  suggestion.  '  He  is  not  social,'  said  the 
Deacon ;  'he  does  not  know  half  the  people  in  Highkrik,  where  he  has  been 
settled  for  over  five  years.  He  often  passes  his  best  friend  without  no- 
ticing him.'  'Never  would  do,'  says  Mr.  Hardcap;  'he  only  visits  his 
people  once  a  year.  I  want  to  Jcnow  my  minister.  We  want  a  man  who 
will  run  in  and  out  as  if  he  cared  for  us.  Preaching  is  all  very  well,  but 
we  don't  want  a  man  who  is  all  talk.' 

"I  am  in  despair.  And,  despite  the  breach  of  ecclesiastical  etiquette, 
I  have  resolved  to  resort  to  advertising.  I  have  not  submitted  my  adver- 
tisement to  the  other  members  of  the  committee,  but  I  am  sure  that  it  is 
in  accord  with  the  general  feelings  of  the  church  : 

'^Wanted  — a  Pastor.  He  must  be  irreproachable  in  his  dress,  without 
being  an  exquisite  ;  married,  but  without  children ;  young,  but  with  great 
experience  ;  learned,  but  not  dull;  eloquent  in  prayer  without  being  collo- 
quial or  stilted ;  reverential,  but  not  conventional ;  neither  old  nor  common- 
place ;  a  brilliant  preacher,  but  not  sensational ;  know  every  one,  but 
have  no  favorites  ;  settle  all  disputes,  engage  in  none ;  be  familiar  with 
the  children,  but  always  dignified ;  be  a  careful  writer,  a  good  extempore 
speaker,  and  an  assiduous  and  diligent  pastor.  Such  a  person,  to  whom 
salary  is  less  an  object  than  '  a  field  of  usefulness,'  may  hear  of  an  advan- 
tageous opening  by  addressing  Wheathedge." 

Here  is  anotlier  humorous  illustration  from  a  public  journal, 
of  the  same  unreasonable  desire  and  expectation  on  the  part 
of  some  churches  : 

"Oh!  by  the  way!  if  you  learn  of  any  one  with  energy,  tearful  interest 
in  the  conversion  of  souls,  attractive  in  preaching,  great-hearted,  un- 


CANDIDATING    AND    COQUETRY  9 

selfish,  merry,  in  fact,  holy  —  let  me  know.  Paul  was  much  the  kind  of 
man  we  need.  We  want  a  man  who  knows  all  about  the  enemy,  has  some 
capacity  for  working  miracles,  is  ready  to  be  stoned,  can  teach  the  women, 
interest  the  children,  convert  kings,  pick  up  sticks,  earn  his  own  living, 
go  through  fire  and  water  for  the  good  of  others  with  no  expectation  that 
they  will  interest  themselves  in  him, —  and,  in  general,  lead  a  forlorn  hope 
of  despondent  followers." 

Such  quotations  might  be  indefinitely  multiplied,  for  the 
literature  of  this  subject  is  voluminous.  But  enough  has 
been  given  to  show  that  the  evils  of  this  system  are  clearly 
apprehended,  and  that  the  current  is  setting  in  the  right 
direction.  The  old-fashioned  style  of  candidating  has  been 
alluded  to  :  why  could  we  not  return  to  that  ?  Many  churches 
even  now  act  on  that  general  principle.  When  a  vacancy 
occurs  in  the  pulpit,  the  committee  provide  a  temporary  supply 
while  they  take  time  to  look  about  carefully  for  the  right  man. 
They  quietly  consult  some  of  our  experienced  theological 
professors  and  ministerial  fathers,  until  they  agree  upon  one 
who  will  be  likely  to  meet  their  requirements.  They  make 
occasion  to  hear  him,  at  the  same  time  learning  all  they  can 
about  him,  when  he  is  invited  to  supply  their  pulpit,  thus 
giving  opportunity  for  some  mutual  acquaintance.  In  many 
cases  this  first  trial  has  proved  satisfactory  and  the  church 
has  been  saved  from  the  division  and  ill  feeling  consequent  on 
a  multiplicity  of  candidates. 


II 

VAGRANT    PARSONS 

THE  first  of  the  parish  problems,  the  finding  of  the  minister, 
is  sometimes  solved  with  fatal  facility.  Not  infrequently 
the  church  is  saved  the  trouble  of  going  in  search  of  a  pastor ; 
Mahomet  comes  to  the  mountain.  Suddenly,  upon  the  scene 
appears  a  parson,  more  or  less  seedy,  not  at  all  bashful,  who 
volunteers  to  step  into  the  vacant  pulpit  and  assume  the  pas- 
toral charge.  The  pious  people  have  been  praying  that  the 
Lord  would  send  them  an  under-shepherd ;  perhaps  this  is  the 
answer  to  their  prayers.  If  so,  it  would  be  almost  sacrilegious 
to  scrutinize  his  credentials  too  closely  :  ^'  The  Lord  knoweth 
them  that  are  his,"  they  are  inclined  to  say;  and  the  more 
this  new-comer  is  involved  in  mystery,  the  more  reason  there 
is  for  believing  him  to  be  the  Lord's  messenger.  He  may  have 
come  straight  from  heaven ;  they  have  no  very  clear  proof  to 
the  contrary;  for  he  has  little  to  show  respecting  his  residence 
upon  the  earth.  If  some  such  reasoning  as  this  be  not  employed 
by  the  people  of  many  parishes,  then  it  is  clear  that  they 
employ  no  reasoning  at  all;  for  it  is  only  on  some  such 
grounds  that  the  men  whom  they  accept  as  spiritual  guides 
could  ever  have  been  harbored  by  them. 

The  children  of  light  are  not  yet  so  wise  in  their  generation 
as  they  might  be ;  if  they  were,  ministerial  vagrants  would 
not  abound  and  flourish  as  they  do.  It  is  evident  that  a  good 
share  of  the  saints  yet  deserve,  if  they  do  not  covet,  the 
appellation  of  ''  the  Lord's  silly  people."  The  way  in  which 
churches  here  and  there  are  victimized  by  clerical  adventurers 
argues  ill  for  the  discretion  of  church  authorities. 

We  are  frequently  hearing  of  questionable  characters  who 
have  suddenly  come  from  nobody  knows  where,  and  have 
foisted  themselves  into  vacant  pulpits,  where,  for  a  while,  they 
subsist,  feeding  the  flock  with  such  moldy  fodder  as  they  can 
manage  to  scrape  together,  borrowing  all  the  money  they  can, 
often  robbing  the  weak  and  unwary  of  that  which  money 

10 


VAGRANT    PARSONS  11 

cannot  restore,  and  finally  going  away,  usually  in  some  haste, 
leaving  the  churches  thus  possessed  and  debauched  in  the 
condition  of  the  boy  in  the  New  Testament  out  of  whom  the 
demon  was  cast. 

Many  of  these  ministerial  tramps  have  no  ministerial  stand- 
ing, and  make  no  distinct  claim  of  any ;  they  usually  pretend 
to  be  connected  with  some  religious  body  not  well  known  in 
the  neighborhoods  where  they  are  operating,  but  they  show 
no  papers;  their  only  credentials  are  a  glib  tongue,  a  sancti- 
monious tone,  and  a  brazen  face.  Almost  always  they  make 
great  pretensions  to  orthodoxy,  and  their  notions  of  conduct 
are  apt  to  be  extremely  rigid.  By  these  professions  they  gain 
the  confidence  of  the  more  austere  among  the  church  officers, 
and  contrive  to  secure  a  hearing. 

Worldly-minded  people  are  inclined  to  say  that  any  church 
which  suffers  an  unknown  man,  bringing  no  credentials  and 
vouched  for  by  nobody,  to  vault  into  its  pulpit  and  to  gain 
access  as  a  clergyman  to  the  homes  of  its  people  is  unfit  to  be 
the  custodian  of  any  important  trust,  and  cannot  too  soon  be 
rent  asunder  and  blotted  out.  Extinction  is,  indeed,  the  just 
penalty  for  such  stupid  infidelity,  and  many  a  church  suffers 
it.  But  in  the  infliction  of  this  penalty  precious  interests  are 
sacrificed  and  innocent  persons  are  ruined. 

It  is  the  weaker  and  more  remote  parishes  that  are  chiefly 
infested  by  ministerial  adventurers.  Sometimes  one  who  is  un- 
usually bold  and  shrewd  ventures  into  a  city  church,  but  this 
is  rare.  The  clerical  tramp,  unlike  the  other  varieties  of  his 
species,  is  apt  to  take  to  the  back  roads.  And  it  is  the  feeble 
flocks,  on  New  England  hills,  or  at  Western  cross-roads,  whose 
organization  is  loose,  and  whose  lines  of  communication  with 
other  churches  are  not  always  open,  that  have  greatest  need  to 
beware  of  these  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing. 

All  intelligent  members  of  such  churches  should  be  vigilant 
against  this  danger.  Let  them  impress  upon  all  those  who 
have  the  care  of  these  churches  the  peril  of  employing,  even 
for  a  Sunday,  unknown  persons  pretending  to  be  ministers. 
In  one  Sunday's  service,  an  artful  scamp  may  lead  captive  a 
silly  woman  or  two  and  wind  his  toils  round  a  few  of  the  more 
susceptible  brethren,  and.thus  create  a  party  in  his  own  interest 


32  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

that  shall  cause  much  trouble.  Let  the  judicious  members, 
whether  officers  or  not,  be  sure  to  make  their  voices  heard  with 
respect  to  all  such  applicatious.  Let  them  see  to  it  that  a 
stringent  rule  is  adopted,  by  which  no  man  shall  be  suffered 
to  stand  one  moment  in  the  pulpit,  unless  he  can  give  a  clear 
account  of  himself,  and  present  to  the  officers  of  the  church 
ample  and  unquestionable  evidence,  indorsed  by  persons  well 
known  to  them,  of  his  good  standing  in  the  ministry. 

The  official  lists  of  clergymen  published  by  the  various  de- 
nominations ought  to  guarantee  the  good  standing  of  all  whose 
names  are  found  in  them.  Certainly,  a  man  who  cannot  show 
his  name  in  one  of  these  official  lists  ought  not  to  be  employed 
by  a  church  until  he  can  clearly  explain  why  it  is  not  in  any 
of  them.  No  old  document  ought  to  be  accepted  5  the  name 
should  appear  in  the  latest  published  roll.  Unfortunately, 
however,  the  presence  of  a  name  in  one  of  these  ministerial 
rolls  is  not  always  conclusive  evidence  that  the  person  bearing 
it  has  a  right  to  be  recognized  as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel. 
Ecclesiastical  bodies  are  sometimes  extremely  careless  in  ad- 
mitting ministers  to  their  fellowship  5  the  vilest  men  some- 
times get  in  on  the  flimsiest  credentials.  A  few  years  ago  a 
man  who  had  figured  in  a  disgusting  scandal,  and  who  had 
been  summarily  expelled  from  the  ministry  of  his  own  denom- 
ination, appeared  at  the  doors  of  a  respectable  ecclesiastical 
body  in  the  North-west  and  sought  admission.  It  had  been 
but  four  or  five  years  since  he  was  driven  out  of  the  pulpit, 
and  the  details  of  his  villainy  had  been  in  all  the  newspapers. 
East  and  West  5  but  with  unblushing  effrontery  he  undertook 
to  reinstate  himself  in  the  ministry  of  another  denomination. 
He  had  no  papers,  save  an  honorary  degree  of  Master  of  Arts 
conferred  on  him  before  his  downfall  by  a  too-confiding  col- 
lege, and  some  similar  documents,  but  he  contrived  to  get  an 
invitation  to  preach  before  the  body.  His  fluency  and  fervor 
captivated  his  hearers,  and  in  a  burst  of  confidence  they  ad- 
mitted him  to  their  membership  and  put  his  name  upon  their 
roll.  Armed  with  this  certificate  he  was  soon  standing  as  a 
candidate  in  the  pulpit  of  one  of  the  leading  churches  of  the 
West.  Here  again  his  smooth  tongue  won  him  many  adher- 
ents, and  it  was  by  a  mere  accident  that  his  true  character  was 


VAGRANT    PARSONS  13 

discovered  in  time  to  prevent  the  churcli  from  calling  him  to 
its  pastorate.  The  indecent  haste  with  which  this  notorious 
fellow  was  admitted  to  membership  in  a  dignified  ecclesiastical 
body,  and  thus  duly  accredited  as  a  preacher  of  the  gospel, 
seems  incredible ;  but  the  story  is  an  instance,  not  so  rare  as 
it  ought  to  be,  of  the  way  things  are  sometimes  done  in  relig- 
ious assemblies. 

Before  us  lies  a  formal  confession,  by  a  presbytery  at  the 
West,  of  the  manner  in  which  it  placed  upon  its  roll  the  name 
of  a  man  almost  equally  notorious,  whose  credentials  were 
equally  unsatisfactory.  There  is  call  for  far  sharper  scrutiny 
into  the  character  of  candidates  for  ministerial  fellowship  than 
some  of  the  ecclesiastical  bodies  are  wont  to  exercise.  Their 
doctrinal  beliefs  are  apt  to  be  carefully  looked  into;  any 
variation  from  the  creed  of  the  church  is  speedily  discovered 
and  not  readily  forgiven ;  but  the  question  whether  the  candi- 
date has  a  good  character  and  a  clean  record  has  been  asked 
mth  much  less  urgency. 

There  seems  to  be  no  way,  therefore,  of  insuring  the  churches 
against  wicked  men  and  deceivers,  but  if  the  denominations 
would  exercise  proper  care  in  keeping  the  names  of  disrepu- 
table men  out  of  their  ministerial  lists,  and  if  the  local  churches 
would  rigidly  refuse  to  have  any  dealings  with  men  whose 
names  do  not  appear  in  the  latest  of  these  lists,  the  path  of 
the  ministerial  vagrant  would  be  much  more  thorny  than  he 
now  finds  it. 

A  committee  of  the  National  Congregational  Council  in  1880 
undertook  to  find  out  the  reasons  for  the  brevity  of  the  pas- 
torates in  so  many  of  the  churches  of  that  denomination, —  a 
malady,  by  the  way,  not  at  all  peculiar  to  that  denomina- 
tion,—  and,  out  of  a  large  number  of  cases  reported  to  the 
committee,  one  hundred  and  twenty  disruptions  of  the  pastor- 
ate were  ascribed  to  '^the  careless  engagement  of  menw^ithout 
proper  credentials."  How  many  of  these  churches  were 
wrecked  in  this  process  the  committee  did  not  learn. 

The  scriptural  counsel  about  entertaining  strangers  was 
adapted  to  a  simpler  mode  of  life  than  ours.  To  take  into 
our  homes  all  the  tramps  who  knock  at  our  doors  would 
be  dangerous  business.     The  apostolic  injunction  cannot  be 


14  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

obeyed  in  our  time.  Regard  for  the  security  of  our  homes 
and  the  lives  of  those  who  are  dear  to  us,  must  make  us  very 
cautious  about  entertaining  strangers.  And  the  same  rule 
applies  with  equal  force  to  the  household  of  faith.  Here  we 
find  constant  use  for  another  apostolic  admonition  :  ^^  Beloved, 
believe  not  every  spirit,  but  prove  the  spirits  whether  they 
are  of  God;  for  many  false  prophets  are  gone  out  into  the 
world."  The  ministerial  tramp  was  abroad  in  those  days, 
and  he  often  laid  claim  to  a  superior  degree  of  inspiration. 
Vacant  churches  in  these  days  are  exposed  to  the  assaults  of 
these  evil  spirits,  and  it  is  sometimes  amazing  to  witness  the 
ease  with  which  they  enter  in  and  take  possession.  Let  the 
custodians  of  these  churches  remember  that  they  are  respon- 
sible, not  only  for  bringing  good  men  into  their  pulpits,  but 
also  for  keeping  bad  men  out. 

It  is  true  that,  in  spite  of  the  best  endeavors,  unworthy 
men  will  sometimes  gain  access  to  our  churches.  Credentials 
will  be  forged ;  the  most  artful  methods  will  be  employed ; 
the  very  elect  will  sometimes  be  deceived ;  but  with  a  proper 
measure  of  vigilance  the  largest  share  of  the  evils  arising 
from  this  source  may  be  prevented. 


Ill 

STEALING   A   MINISTER 

WHEN  the  vacant  pastorate  is  to  be  filled,  two  classes  of 
ministers  at  once  present  themselves,  from  the  one  or 
the  other  of  which  the  selection  must  be  made — settled  min- 
isters and  ministers  without  charge.  Has  the  church  in  search 
of  a  pastor  any  right  to  make  overtures  to  a  minister  in  charge 
of  a  church,  or  is  it  morally  bound  to  confine  its  choice  to 
unemployed  clergymen  or  theological  students  ?  This  is  one 
of  the  first,  and  not  the  least,  important  of  the  parish  problems. 

To  the  unemployed  clergymen  the  vacant  church  would 
naturally  turn  first  for  the  supply  of  its  pulpit.  The  man 
chosen  from  this  class  would  be  ready  to  come  at  once;  the 
suffering  caused  by  the  rupture  of  pleasant  relations  would  be 
avoided.  There  is  never  any  lack  of  unemployed  ministers, 
as  vacant  churches,  of  much  importance,  soon  discover.  And, 
beyond  a  question,  there  may  often  be  found  in  this  class 
men  of  excellent  ability  and  unexceptionable  character. 

The  right  man  can  often  be  found,  by  a  little  effort,  in  this 
category.  There  is,  no  doubt,  more  reluctance  than  there  should 
be  on  the  part  of  vacant  churches  to  turn  in  this  direction.  The 
skepticism  with  which  they  often  regard  a  minister  who  is  out 
of  work  is  unreasonable  and  unjust.  The  best  men  some- 
times, for  sufficient  reason,  relinquish  for  a  time  work  in 
which  they  have  been  abundantly  successful ;  the  fact  that  a 
man  is  not  employed  is  not  conclusive  evidence  that  he  is  not 
worthy  of  employment.  Ye.t  we  frequently  see  a  church  turn 
away  from  a  man  of  fine  qualities,  and  fix  its  choice  upon 
another  every  way  inferior  to  him,  the  only  apparent  reason 
being  that  the  latter  was  settled  while  the  former  was  not.  A 
little  more  intelligence  and  independence  of  judgment  in 
examining  the  claims  of  unemployed  ministers  may  weU  be 
commended  to  vacant  churches.  It  is  fooHsh  to  take  it  for 
granted  that  the  man  who  is  just  now  waiting  for  work  is  not 
fit  to  be  your  pastor.  Very  likely  he  is  a  better  man,  mentally 

15 


16  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

and  morally,  than  the  man  whom  you  will  succeed  in  enticing 
away  from  the  parish  where  he  is  now  happily  at  work. 

There  is  one  class  of  settled  ministers,  concerning  whom  the 
question  we  are  discussing  cannot  be  raised.  They  are  those 
who,  although  still  remaining  in  the  pastorate,  make  known 
their  wish  to  change  their  field  of  labor.  When  the  minister 
has  announced  this  purpose,  the  right  of  any  vacant  church 
to  open  negotiations  with  him  cannot  be  disputed.  But  the 
trouble  arises  with  respect  to  those  who  have  made  no  such 
declaration.  It  frequently  happens  that  a  clergyman,  supposed 
to  be  happily  and  permanently  located,  is  called  away  from  his 
work  to  a  new  field  of  labor,  amid  loud  complaints  of  the 
injury  done  to  the  church  left  pastorless.  Even  when  a  deco- 
rous silence  is  maintained  before  the  public,  there  is  often  not 
a  little  suppressed  resentment;  and  the  opinion  that  no 
chiu'ch  has  a  right  to  disturb  a  settled  pastor  by  calling  him 
into  its  service  finds  angry  expression.  The  act  is  denounced 
as  a  species  of  larceny,  and  laws  to  punish  the  crime  of  stealing 
of  ministers  are  feelingly  invoked.  Several  flagrant  cases  of 
this  sort  have  recently  occurred,  arousing  unwonted  ire  in  the 
breasts  of  staid  parishioners,  and  no  week  passes  that  does 
not  witness  griefs  of  this  nature  in  some  part  of  the  land. 
The  ethics  of  this  relation  deserve,  therefore,  a  little  cai-eful 
study.  It  is  a  subject  in  which  good  Methodists  are  supposed 
to  have  no  interest. 

Without  doubt  it  is  a  hardship  that  a  church  should  be 
deprived,  for  any  reason,  of  the  ser\T.ces  of  a  teacher  to  whom 
it  has  become  attached,  and  who  seems  to  be  contented  and 
successful  in  his  work.  The  wish  to  be  protected  against 
such  a  loss  is  one  which  the  members  of  a  church  naturally 
entertain.  But  the  question  has  two  sides,  and  the  irate 
church  whose  pulpit  has  just  been  emptied  is  not  apt  to  see 
more  than  one  of  them.  The  welfare  of  the  minister,  as  well 
as  of  the  church,  must  be  considered.  Xow,  it  is  unquestion- 
able that  the  welfare  of  the  minister  sometimes  requires  him 
to  change  his  field  of  labor.  A  life-long  pastorate  may  be  the 
ideal,  but  it  is  impossible,  in  many  cases,  to  realize  it.  A 
change  is  sometimes  demanded,  not  chiefly  for  an  increase  of 
salary,  but  for  relief  from  burdens  of  labor  and  care  that  have 


STEALING    A    MINISTER  17 

grown  intolerable,  or  to  preserve  health  and  power  of  work. 
In  these  exacting  times,  when  the  pnlpit  must  grapple  with  so 
many  questions,  and  when  the  condition  of  power  is  wide  and 
constant  study,  this  necessity  frequently  occurs.  There  are 
ministers  who,  by  dint  of  tough  constitutions,  and  by  the 
allowance  of  liberal  and  frequent  vacations,  continue  to  do 
severe  and  thorough  work  in  the  same  field  for  a  long  time  ; 
but  there  are  many  whose  health  is  less  firm  and  whose  con- 
gregations are  less  liberal. 

Another  fact  to  be  considered  is  that  ministers  who,  for  any 
reason,  are  out  of  service,  are  not  generally  wanted.  The 
vacant  pulpits  do  not  affect  the  unemployed  parsons.  The 
church  that  has  just  been  raging  about  the  "  stealing"  of  its 
own  minister  will  pass  by  scores  of  clergymen  who  are  seek- 
ing places,  and  fix  its  choice  on  some  pastor  whose  hands  are 
fuU  of  work.  Among  the  unemployed  clergymen  capable  and 
excellent  men  may  often  be  found;  but  no  fact  is  more 
familiar  to  those  who  are  acquainted  with  ecclesiastical  affairs 
than  that  the  unemployed  clergyman,  whatever  may  be  his 
merits,  is  at  a  great  disadvantage  in  seeking  a  parish.  This 
is  a  state  of  things  for  which  the  ministers  are  not  responsible; 
the  churches  themselves  have  established  this  rule,  by  which 
it  has  generally  come  to  be  understood  that  a  minister  who 
wants  a  place  is  a  minister  whom  no  place  wants. 

It  is  not,  therefore,  prudent  for  the  minister  to  resign  his 
charge,  even  when  he  feels  that  a  change  is  imperative.  Even 
if  he  were  known  to  be  seeking  a  place,  the  committees  of 
supply  would  steel  their  hearts  against  him.  His  only  hope 
is  in  quietly  staying  where  he  is,  and  doing  his  work  as  well 
as  he  can.  Peradventure  some  vacant  church  may  spy  him 
out  and  come  to  his  relief. 

Churches  are  not  always  so  considerate  and  generous  as 
they  ought  to  be  in  their  treatment  of  their  ministers.  The 
ministers  are  willing  to  work,  and  the  churches  are  willing  to 
let  them  work.  The  harder  they  work  the  heavier  are  the 
burdens  laid  on  them.  The  contracts,  on  the  part  of  the 
churches,  are  not  scrupulously  kept;  and  if  the  minister  is 
good-natured  and  does  not  complain,  it  is  assumed  that  there 
is  no  reason  for  complaint.     Probably,  if  he  should  complain, 


18  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

nothing  would  be  done ;  he  thinks  it  wiser,  therefore,  to  go 
on  with  his  work  and  wait  nntil  relief  shall  come  to  him  from 
some  other  quarter. 

If,  therefore,  it  should  be  established  as  a  rule  that  vacant 
churches  must  make  no  overtures  to  settled  ministers,  it  would 
go  hard  with  scores  of  overworked  men  who  ought  to  find 
respite  in  a  change  of  labor.  The  churches  have  already 
made  it  difficult  for  a  minister  without  charge  to  gain  employ- 
ment ;  if  they  could  create  a  sentiment  which  would  prevent 
a  settled  minister  from  receiving  a  call,  the  ministers  would  be 
left  in  an  embarrassing  position.  The  attempt  to  create  such 
a  sentiment  is  an  attempt  to  form  a  kind  of  ecclesiastical 
trades- union,  under  which  ministers  shall  be  wholly  at  the 
mercy  of  the  churches.  It  is  not  likely  to  succeed,  but  those 
who  are  calling  for  it  ought  to  be  aware  of  the  nature  of  the 
demand  which  they  are  making. 

The  truth  is  that  the  labor  market  ought  to  be  as  free  in 
the  clerical  profession  as  in  any  other  business,  and  attempts 
to  restrict  the  freedom  of  movement  in  this  calling  are  not  in 
the  interests  of  Justice  and  fair  play.  Granted  that  there 
ought  to  be  something  other  than  a  business  relation  between 
pastor  and  people,  it  still  remains  true  that  the  higher  rela- 
tion must  in  no  wise  contravene  those  principles  of  justice 
and  freedom  on  which  all  contracts  are  based. 

A  vacant  church  has  a  right  to  ask  any  settled  pastor 
whether  he  desires  to  change  his  field  of  labor.  If  he  does  not 
wish  to  change  he  will  say  so,  and  no  harm  will  be  done. 
Such  a  negative  reply  is  often  made,  even  when  a  great  increase 
of  salary  is  offered.  The  minister  who  can  be  toled  away  by  a 
bigger  salary  —  with  whom  the  salary  is  the  paramount  con- 
sideration —  is  not  worth  getting  or  keeping.  The  church  is 
the  gainer  that  loses  him.  Doubtless  there  are  such  clergy- 
men, but  they  are  not  all  such  ;  there  is  no  other  class  of  men 
with  whom  pecuniary  considerations  have  so  little  influence. 
The  church  whose  minister  is  worth  keeping  ought  to  be  will- 
ing, therefore,  that  any  committee  of  supply  should  have  free 
access  to  him.  If  the  church  has  confidence  enough  in  its  pas- 
tor's judgment  and  integrity  to  desire  his  services  as  a  relig- 
ious teacher,  it  must  believe  that  he  will  not  encourage  any 


STEALING    A    MINISTER  19 

such  approaches,  unless  it  is  necessary,  for  some  reason,  that 
he  should  seek  another  field.  And  when,  for  any  good  reason, 
such  a  change  becomes  necessary,  the  church  should  put  no 
obstacle  in  his  way. 

The  estimate  of  the  ministerial  character  which  is  implied 
in  all  this  clamor  of  the  injured  churches,  is  the  reverse  of 
flattering.  It  seems  to  be  assumed  that  he  is  not  a  free  and 
responsible  being ;  that  he  is  the  victim  or  the  dupe  of  those 
who  have  beguiled  him  away.  '^  It  is  mean  to  steal  a  sheep, 
but  meaner  to  steal  a  shepherd,"  is  a  common  saying  of  those 
who  thus  complain.  The  saying  uncovers  the  fallacy  of  the 
whole  case.  A  sheep  can  be  stolen,  because  it  is  a  chattel ;  but 
a  shepherd  cannot.  The  shepherd  makes  his  own  contracts, 
in  this  country,  and  so  does  the  minister.  His  place  of  labor 
is  not  likely  to  be  changed  without  his  own  free  choice. 

Another  similitude  commonly  quoted  in  such  cases  is 
equally  lacking  in  pertinence.  The  church  that  calls  a  settled 
minister  is  said  to  be  guilty  of  an  act  precisely  like  that  of  the 
woman  who  hires  your  cook  out  of  your  kitchen.  But  if  there 
is  any  wrong  in  this  case,  it  is  in  the  fact  that  your  cook  is 
ignorant  and  easily  imposed  upon ;  that  the  woman  who  has 
coaxed  her  away  offers  her  no  better  place,  and  thus  injures 
you  without  benefiting  your  servant.  If  the  servant  is  able  to 
judge  for  herself,  and  knows  that  she  is  improving  her  con- 
dition by  the  change,  what  right  have  you  to  stand  in  the  way 
of  her  going,  or  to  complain  of  another  for  giving  her  what 
you  withhold  ?  This  kind  of  outcry  is  never  heard  concerning 
any  class  of  employees  save  those  who  are  assumed  to  be  un- 
able to  choose  wisely  for  themselves.  The  cashier  of  a  bank, 
the  superintendent  of  a  railroad,  is  called  from  one  place 
to  another,  and  nobody  ever  thinks  of  questioning  his  right 
to  go,  or  the  right  of  another  employer  to  offer  him  employ- 
ment. There  seems  to  be  no  good  reason  why  the  minister 
should  not  be  credited  with  as  much  judgment,  and  allowed 
as  much  liberty,  as  is  granted  to  a  bank  cashier  or  a  railroad 
superintendent. 

There  seems,  then,  to  be  no  other  method  for  a  church  to 
pui'sue,  if  it  wishes  to  keep  its  minister,  than  that  which  every 
employer  must  pursue  who  wishes  to  retain  a  valued  servant. 


20  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

The  churcli  must  keep  its  part  of  the  contract,  must  see  that 
its  minister  is  not  overworked,  must  cooperate  with  him  in  all 
possible  ways,  must  show  him  that  his  labors  are  appreciated, 
and  that  his  welfare  is  fairly  considered.  The  church  that  has 
failed  to  do  this  has  no  ground  of  complaint  when  its  minister 
goes  away.  If,  after  the  church  has  done  all  this,  the  minis- 
ter departs,  common  sense  will  bring  the  church  to  one  of  two 
conclusions :  it  will  either  bow  to  the  providential  decree  that 
has  removed  a  faithful  teacher,  or  it  will  thank  God  that  it  is 
rid  of  a  trifler. 


IV 
MINISTERIAL    BUREAUX 

TN  most  of  the  great  Protestant  commimions  much  com- 
plaint is  heard  of  a  failure  to  utilize  the  ministerial  forces. 
On  the  one  side^  is  a  great  array  of  vacant  churches,  on  the 
other  a  multitude  of  unemployed  ministers.  Churches  are 
begging  for  teachers,  and  preachers  are  praying  for  churches, 
and  there  seems  to  be  no  way  of  bringing  the  demand  and 
the  supply  together.  In  the  statistics  of  one  religious  body 
now  before  us,  out  of  a  total  of  4016  churches,  941  are 
reported  vacant ;  and  out  of  a  total  of  3796  ministers,  1137 
are  "  not  in  pastoral  work."  Quite  a  large  proportion  of  these 
last  are  employed  as  teachers  or  in  the  work  of  benevolent 
societies,  or  in  other  callings ;  nevertheless  it  is  certain  that 
several  hundreds  of  them  are  available  for  the  supply  of  the 
941  vacant  churches,  if  only  the  proper  adjustments  could 
be  made.  What  a  misfortune  that  so  many  flocks  should  be 
shepherdless  while  there  are  so  many  shepherds  searching  for 
flocks  ! 

A  state  of  things  quite  similar  exists  in  nearly  all  the 
Protestant  denominations.  The  Methodists  alone  escape  this" 
reproach.  It  is  their  boast  that  every  minister  who  desii-es  to 
work  is  furnished  with  a  field  of  labor,  and  that  every  church 
wishing  a  pastor  is  supplied.  Over  against  the  confessed 
disadvantages  of  their  system,  arising  out  of  its  imperfect 
adaptation  to  work  in  the  larger  cities,  this  great  fact  may  be 
set.  Some  degree  of  freedom  and  flexibility  may  well  be 
sacrificed  to  secure  so  perfect  an  economy  of  force.  It  is  not 
likely,  however,  that  any  of  the  other  denominations  will 
adopt  the  itinerant  system ;  it  is  much  more  likely  that  the 
Methodist  church  will  relieve  its  stringency  by  important 
modifications ;  but  it  is  a  question  often  asked  whether  some 
advisory  agency  might  not  be  contrived  that  would  bring  the 
idle  ministers  and  the  empty  pulpits  into  communication,  and 


22  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

whether  in  this  way  the  advantages  of  the  itinerancy  could 
not  be  secured  without  suffering  its  drawbacks. 

In  the  Episcopal  church,  the  Bishop  fulfills  this  function^ 
and  it  is  probable  that  he  accomplishes  as  much  in  this  direc- 
tion as  is  possible  under  any  system  which  leaves  to  the  local 
church  unlimited  power  in  the  choice  of  its  minister.  The 
number  of  unemployed  clergjrmen  and  of  vacant  parishes  is 
smaller  in  this  church  than  in  any  of  the  non-episcopal 
churches,  and  this  is  a  strong  reason  for  episcopal  supervision. 
"A  church  without  a  bishop"  has,  beyond  a  doubt,  many 
advantages :  the  liberty  of  which  it  boasts  is  a  great  good  j 
whether  it  more  than  compensates  for  the  lack  of  episcopal 
oversight  and  direction  is  a  question  into  which  we  do  not 
propose  to  enter;  we  only  wish  to  point  out  that  the  polity 
which  the  non-episcopal  churches  deliberately  renounce  works 
well  in  the  matter  now  under  consideration. 

In  has  been  proposed  in  some  of  the  non-episcopal  churches, 
that  each  local  ecclesiastical  body  appoint  from  its  own  mem- 
bers a  ministerial  bureau,  or  committee  of  ministerial  exchange, 
to  serve  as  a  medium  of  communication  between  churches 
wanting  ministers  and  ministers  wanting  churches.  One  of  the 
most  distinguished  of  the  Presbyterian  ministers,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Crosby,  of  New- York,  forcibly  urged  this  plan  in  a  lecture  at 
the  New  Haven  Seminary.  ^^  The  church,"  he  says,  "  should 
have  an  organized  system  of  bringing  together  unemployed 
ministers  and  vacant  pulpits,  by  which,  in  a  quiet  way,  con- 
sistent with  the  dignity  of  the  church  and  the  self-respect  of 
ministers,  churches  would  be  able  to  act  intelligently,  without 
the  pernicious  practice  of  candidating.  A  committee  should 
be  intrusted  with  the  delicate  matter — a  committee  of  experi- 
enced and  judicious  men,  appointed  by  the  chief  ecclesiastic 
body  of  the  district ;  and  to  this  committee  churches  should 
apply,  and  on  this  committee  ministers  should  rely." 

This  plan  seems  entirely  rational  and  feasible ;  can  any 
one  suggest  a  serious  objection  to  it  ?  How  great  would  be 
the  gain  if  the  ministers  who  are  now  writing  and  traveling 
hither  and  thither  in  search  of  work,  and  the  churches  that 
are  reaching  out  blindly  after  pastors,  could  be  introduced  to 
one  another  by  some  such  judicious  committee !      No  flaw 


MINISTERIAL    BUREAUX  23 

appears  in  this  reasoning,  and  yet,  when  the  method  is  tried, 
it  does  not  succeed.  The  great  northern  Presbyterian  church 
has  made  full  experiment  with  it,  and  with  discouraging 
results.  This  church  would  seem  to  possess,  in  its  centralized 
organization  and  its  admirable  discipline,  better  facilities  for 
the  working  of  such  a  scheme  than  most  of  the  other  non- 
episcopal  churches  can  command ;  yet  a  strenuous  endeavor, 
continued  through  several  years,  to  put  it  into  operation,  has 
almost  wholly  failed.  The  presbyterial  and  sy nodical  com- 
mittees of  supply  were  duly  organized,  and  announced  them- 
selves as  ready  to  mediate  between  vacant  pulpits  and  idle 
pastors,  but  they  have  had  little  to  do.  Neither  ministers  nor 
churches  resorted  to  them ;  the  evil  against  which  they  were 
to  provide  is  not  abated ;  the  "  hungry  sheep  "  still  "  look 
up  and  are  not  fed,"  and  the  starving  shepherds  w^it  in  the 
market-place  because  no  man  has  hired  them.  The  result  of 
this  experiment  indicates,  in  the  words  of  a  late  temperate 
report  on  the  subject,  "that  neither  churches  nor  ministers 
can  be  brought,  by  any  new  form  of  machinery,  to  leave  their 
concerns  in  other  hands  than  their  own.  The  committees  are 
left  idle  while  the  parties  transact  their  business  for  them- 
selves.'^ 

The  reasons  of  the  reluctance  of  churches  and  ministers  to 
avail  themselves  of  such  an  agency  do  not  immediately  appear. 
Is  it  partly  a  result  of  an  overstrained  independence  —  a  jeal- 
ousy of  ecclesiastical  control  ?  Is  it  due  to  a  fear  that  the 
committee  or  bureau,  thus  appointed,  would  learn  to  dom- 
ineer over  the  churches?  Such  an  apprehension  seems  alto- 
gether irrational.  The  Episcopal  churches  appear  to  have 
preserved  all  their  liberties  of  choice  j  they  avail  themselves 
constantly  of  the  good  offices  of  the  bishop,  in  the  selection 
of  their  rectors ;  but  it  is  probable  that  they  are  as  free  in 
their  action  as  the  churches  of  any  other  communion.  The 
danger  that  an  advisory  committee,  appointed  by  themselves 
year  by  year,  would  usurp  authority  over  the  churches  in  this 
matter  seems  to  be  exceedingly  remote.  The  fear  of  losing 
liberty  sometimes  degenerates  into  a  ludicrous  apprehension. 

"  Give  me  liberty  or  give  me  death  ! "  is  a  heroic  statement, 
no  doubt ;  but  the  man  who  prefers  to  die  in  the  woods,  rather 


24  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

than  surrender  the  liberty  of  finding  his  own  way  out  by  in- 
quiring at  the  door  of  the  wood-chopper's  cabin,  is  a  cheap 
variety  of  hero. 

So  far  as  the  clergy  are  concerned,  their  unwillingness  to 
make  use  of  the  ministerial  bureaux  arises,  probably,  from  a 
different  cause.  The  larger  number  of  these  vacant  churches 
are  weak  churches,  and  the  unemployed  minister  hesitates  to 
asl^  advice  of  such  a  committee,  lest  they  should  commend  him 
to  one  of  these  places,  where  the  labor  is  abundant  but  the  sup- 
port is  meager.  To  refuse  such  an  opening  would  be  ungra- 
cious ;  to  accept  it  would  imply  a  degree  of  self-denial  to  which 
he  has  not  attained.  Therefore  he  thinks  it  more  prudent  to 
keep  his  own  counsel  and  conduct  his  own  negotiations. 

If  such  are  the  reasons  which  operate  to  dissuade  the  pas- 
torless  churches  and  the  churchless  parsons  from  availing  them- 
selves of  this  sensible  provision  for  their  mutual  benefit,  it  is 
to  be  hoped  that  they  may  be  reconsidered.  A  slight  acces- 
sion of  common  sense  and  of  consecration  would  be  likely  to 
make  both  parties  willing  to  receive  advice,  and  to  agree  upon 
some  plan  by  which  the  neglected  vineyards  and  the  waiting 
laborers  may  be  brought  together. 

In  the  absence  of  such  a  plan,  much  labor  of  this  nature  falls 
upon  those  who  are  already  overworked.  Home  missionary 
secretaries  and  superintendents,  in  all  the  new  States,  are  nec- 
essarily burdened  with  such  cares,  in  behalf  of  the  feeble 
churches.  Yet  even  they  might  be  relieved  to  a  considerable 
extent  by  the  cooperation  of  local  committees.  Every  pastor 
of  a  prominent  church,  East  or  West,  finds  himself,  willing  or 
unwilling,  regularly  installed  as  a  ministerial  bureau.  No 
small  share  of  his  time  is  taken  in  replying  to  questions  from 
idle  ministers  and  vacant  churches.  If  this  work  could  be 
organized  and  subdivided,  much  relief  would  be  afforded  to  a 
few  very  busy  men. 

Another  device  which  has  been  resorted  to  in  some  of  our 
larger  cities  is  the  establishment  of  local  bureaux  of  tempo- 
rary supply.  Ministers  on  their  vacations  or  ministers  with- 
out charge  report  to  these  bureaux,  and  churches  of  the 
vicinity  needing  supplies  for  their  pulpits  make  application 
during  the  week,  and  take  whatever  is  sent  them  on  Sunday 


MINISTERIAL    BUREAUX  25 

morning.  Such  a  bureau  may  be  a  great  convenience  at  times ; 
but,  considered  as  a  benevolent  institution,  its  indirect  effects 
are  questionable.  The  value  of  such  an  ageney  cannot  be 
estimated  until  it  is  known  to  what  extent  the  churches  are 
encouraged  by  its  presence  to  neglect  or  delay  the  settlement 
of  pastors,  and  to  rely  on  a  hand-to-mouth  provision  for  their 
pulpits  which  saves  them  considerable  money;  and  also  to 
what  extent  restless  ministers  in  distant  places  are  led  to 
resign  their  pulpits  and  make  pilgrimages  to  the  places 
where  the  bureaux  offer  employment.  The  comparison  is 
undoubtedly  rude,  and  may  seem  invidious;  but,  if  things 
sacred  may  be  likened  to  things  profane,  the  establishment  of 
such  an  agency  may  operate,  to  some  extent,  like  the  opening 
of  a  soup-kitchen,  and  the  wisest  philanthropists  are  now 
agreed  that  the  effects  of  free  soup-kitchens  are  not  salutary. 


V 

THE    PASTOR    AND    HIS    PAY 

PERHAPS  no  man  ever  had  a  more  exalted  opinion  of  the 
Gospel,  or  showed  more  enthusiasm  in  preaching  it,  than 
Paul.  And  he  had  good  reason.  There  is  no  grander  vocation 
than  the  Christian  ministry.  To  be  qualified  for  the  highest 
success  in  it,  what  attainments  are  needed  in  every  depart- 
ment of  scientific  and  theological  knowledge !  And  to  secure 
these,  what  years  of  study  and  expense  are  involved  !  Then, 
when  the  work  is  entered  on,  what  wisdom  and  tact,  what 
theories  and  practice,  what  devotion  and  self-sacrifice,  what 
protracted  toil  and  enduring  patience  are  requisite  ! 
Writes  one  of  our  leading  editors  : 

''  The  hardest  part  of  a  clergyman's  life,  as  it  is  of  an  editor's,  is  the 
necessity  of  producing  without  the  time  to  produce.  Good  thoughts, 
whether  in  the  paper,  the  volume,  or  sermon,  need  time  to  grow  up 
leisurely,  to  mature  in  a  calm  restfulness,  and  to  be  produced  when,  and 
only  when,  they  are  so  far  ripe  that  they  need  expression.  Once  in  a 
while  we  hear  a  sermon  which  we  know  is  the  fruit  of  leisure  ;  it  must 
have  grown,  to  be  the  rounded,  balanced  thing  it  is.  We  feel  instinct- 
ively that  such  a  paper  could  not  have  been  thrown  off  at  the  rate  of  two 
a  week,  with  a  hundred  other  distractions  and  cares  added  thereto.  But 
there  are  few  or  no  ministers  who  can  give  their  people  this  kind  of  fare ; 
college  professors  may ;  but,  whether  happily  or  unhappily,  our  clergymen 
cannot ;  they  must  write  on  the  jump  ;  Sundays  whirl  by  in  amazing  swift- 
ness, and  the  weekly  grist  of  thought,  sensibility,  and  reflection  must  be 
ready.  .  .  .  We  want  to  indicate,  from  our  point  of  view,  what  we, 
the  public,  should  expect  and  demand  from  the  ministers  of  religion,  how 
forbearing  men  should  be  to  a  class  of  educated  gentlemen,  who,  although 
obliged  to  wear  clothes  which  do  not  show  the  stains  of  labor,  are  among 
the  most  intense  and  unwearied  workers  among  us." 

The  genial  occupant  of  Harper's  ''Easy  Chair"  adds  his 
testimony : 

"A  conscientious  clergyman  is  the  hardest-worked  man  among  us ;  and 
yet  there  are  very  many  that  look  upon  him  as  a  kind  of  drone  in  the  hive , 
and  have  a  vague  idea  that  he  is  very  well  paid  for  doing  very  little.  Then, 
in  what  an  atmosphere  of  abominably  impertinent  interference  the  clergy- 


THE    PASTOE    AND    HIS    PAY  27 

man  is  obliged  to  breathe !  As  an  illustration,  some  one  in  his  congrega- 
tion will  wax  highly  indignant  because  he  imagines  he  has  been  listening 
to  an  old  sermon  ;  but,  get  at  his  real  feeling,  and  you  will  find  it  is  that  he 
pays  his  minister's  tax  in  the  expectation  of  having  two  sermons  a  week, 
and  has  no  idea  of  letting  him  cheat  him  out  of  one." 

Other  paragraphs  from  the  same  pen  are  equally  pointed  : 

*'  The  clergy  are  the  worst  paid  body  of  laborers  in  the  country.  They 
work  with  ability  and  zeal.  They  are  educated,  sensitive  men,  often  care- 
fully nurtured  ;  and  they  are  expected  to  be  everybody's  servants,  to  hold 
their  time  and  talents  at  the  call  of  all  whimsical  old  women  of  the  parish 
and  of  the  selectmen  of  the  town.  They  are  to  preach  twice  or  thrice  on 
Sunday,  to  lecture  and  expound  during  the  week,  to  make  parochial  calls 
in  sun  or  storm,  to  visit  the  poor,  to  be  the  confidants  and  counselors  of  a 
throng,  and  always  in  every  sermon  to  be  fresh  and  bright,  and  always 
ready  to  do  any  public  service  that  may  be  asked.  Of  course,  the  clergy- 
man must  be  chairman  of  the  school  committee,  and  a  director  of  the  town 
library,  and  president  of  charitable  societies.  He  cannot  give  a  great  deal 
of  money  for  educational  and  charitable  and  aesthetic  purposes  —  not  a 
very  great  deal ;  but  he  can  always  give  time,  and  he  can  always  make  a 
speech,  and  di'aw  the  resolutions,  and  direct  generally. 

"  He  is,  in  fact,  the  town  pound  to  which  everybody  may  commit  the 
truant  fancies  that  nobody  else  will  tolerate  upon  the  pastures  and  lawns 
of  his  attention.  He  is  the  town  pump  at  which  everybody  may  fill  himself 
with  advice.  He  is  the  town  bell  to  summon  everybody  to  every  common 
enterprise.  He  is  the  town  beast  of  burden  to  carry  everybody's  pack.  With 
all  this,  he  must  have  a  neat  and  pretty  house,  and  a  comely  and  attractive 
wife,  who  must  be  always  ready  and  well  dressed  in  the  parlor,  although 
she  cannot  afford  to  hire  sufScient  ^help.'  And  the  good  man's  children 
must  be  well  behaved  and  properly  clad,  and  his  house  be  a  kind  of  hotel 
for  the  traveling  brethren.  Of  course,  he  must  be  a  scholar  and  familiar  with 
current  literature,  and  he  may  justly  be  expected  to  fit  half  a  dozen  boys 
for  college  every  year.  These  are  but  illustrations  of  the  functions  he  is 
to  fulfill,  and  always  without  murmuring ;  and  for  all  he  is  to  be  glad  to 
get  a  pittance  upon  which  he  can  barely  bring  the  ends  of  the  year 
together,  and  to  know  that,  if  he  should  suddenly  die  of  overwork,  as  he 
probably  will,  his  wife  and  children  will  be  beggars." 

What  follows  is  from  an  address  by  the  Rev.  William  M. 
Taylor,  D.  D.,  of  the  Broadway  Tabernacle,  New- York  : 

"  When  some  one  was  questioning  Dr.  Wm.  Lindsay  Alexander,  of  Edin- 
burgh, concerning  his  work,  he  is  reported  to  have  said,  '  I  write  as  much 
every  year  as  would  make  more  volumes  of  printed  matter  than  a  prolific 
author  could  produce  in  the  same  time  ;  I  have  a  correspondence  to  main- 


28  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

tain  as  large  as  that  of  a  lawyer  in  good  practice ;  and  I  have  to  make 
almost  as  many  visits  to  the  sick  as  a  medical  man.'  'And  what/  said  the 
inquirer,  '  do  you  get  as  a  salary  for  all  that  ? '  '  Not  much  more  than  the 
wages  of  a  banking  clerk,'  was  the  reply.  Now  it  would  be  wrong  to  give 
the  impression  that  the  labors  of  every  minister  are  as  great  as  those  of 
the  noble  representative  of  Congregationalism  in  the  Scottish  metropolis, 
but  still  no  one  who  is  not  constantly  beside  a  pastor  has  any  idea  of  the 
work  which  he  is  required  to  perform.  He  is  at  the  call  of  the  community 
for  everything  that  needs  charity,  energy,  and  self-sacrifice.  Is  a  secretary 
wanted  for  some  benevolent  association ;  who  so  fit  for  the  post  as  the 
minister  ?  Is  an  advocate  needed  for  some  deserving  cause ;  who  so 
available  as  the  minister  ?  Is  a  lecture  required  to  help  some  struggling 
society  out  of  its  difficulties ;  who  is  asked  to  give  it  so  frequently  as  the 
minister  ?  Does  some  movement  in  the  locality  need  a  head  or  a  helper ; 
who  is  first  thought  of  but  the  minister  ?  And  all  these  are  over  and 
above  his  proper  and  peculiar  work  of  teaching  the  people  on  the  Lord's 
Day  by  discourses  which  are  the  fruit  of  study ;  and  his  other  equally 
important  duty  of  visiting  the  sick,  and  dealing  with  his  people  pri- 
vately and  from  house  to  house  about  their  spiritual  concerns.  Now  do 
not  these  labors,  faithfully  performed,  demand  a  worthier  recognition  than 
that  which  many  churches  give  ? 

''Multitudes  seem  to  imagine  that  it  requires  no  work  whatever  to 
preach.  They  have  the  idea  that  the  minister  in  his  student-days  has 
gone  to  the  seminary,  somehow  as  an  empty  barrel  is  sent  to  the  spring ; 
and  that  in  after  years,  as  each  Sabbath  comes  round,  he  has  nothing  more 
to  do  than  to  stand  up  and  give  out  so  much  of  that  original  supply,  even 
as  one  turns  the  faucet  of  a  cask  and  draws  off  so  much  for  temporary 
necessity.  But  this  is  not  the  case.  Lord  Brougham  used  to  say  that  he 
knew  of  no  profession  that  made  larger  demands  upon  a  man  for  work 
than  that  of  the  ministry ;  because,  while  the  lawyer's  pleadings  were  only 
occasional,  and  he  was  always  supplied  with  a  full  brief  for  each  case,  the 
minister  had  to  appear  before  the  same  people,  week  after  week,  dealing 
with  the  same  class  of  subjects,  and  was  expected  to  produce  discourses 
that  would  be  marked  both  by  variety  and  power." 

The  clerical  work  has,  however,  a  far  more  serious  aspect. 
The  Christian  minister  is  a  physician  under  divine  appoint- 
ment in  the  great  world-hospital,  where  he  is  confronted  by 
every  variety  of  moral  disease.     It  is  sometimes  his  office  to 


And  with  some  sweet  oblivious  antidote 
Cleanse  the  stuffed  bosom  of  that  perilous  stuff 
Which  weighs  upon  the  heart." 

There  are  critical  cases  continually  occurring,  when  he  watches 
every  symptom  with  untold  anxiety.    For,  although  these  cases 


THE    PASTOR   AND    HIS    PAY  29 

involve  far  more  than  mere  physical  life  or  death,  his  hands  are 
often  completely  tied.  The  healer  of  bodily  diseases  can  shut 
np  his  patients  in  the  sick-chamber,  darken  the  room,  muffle 
the  knocker,  and  put  the  attendants  into  noiseless  slippers, 
lest,  perchance,  some  inadvertent  sound  should  prove  the  fatal 
weight  in  the  life-scales.  The  physician  of  the  soul  can  do 
nothing  of  this.  He  sees  his  patient  surrounded  by  the  most 
perilous  influences,  but  has,  it  may  be,  no  power  to  lay  his 
finger  on  one  of  them.  The  case  stands  trembling  in  the 
balance,  yet  he  cannot  enforce  his  most  urgent  prescrip- 
tion. Sometimes  all  he  can  do  is  to  watch  and  wait  and  pray. 
So  many  little  sins,  so  many  low  temptations,  so  many  base 
appetites  are  clamoring  for  control,  and  he  standing  by  and 
knowing  it  all,  and  knowing  that  the  smallest  of  them  may 
turn  the  scales,  and  yet  unable  to  bar  the  door  against  a  single 
one  of  them. 

Alas!  how  many  such  patients  is  he  watching,  who  are 
insensible  to  their  disease,  and  unconcerned  for  the  result. 
With  what  care  and  skill  is  the  needed  medicine  wrought  into 
his  Sunday's  discourse,  that,  God  helping,  it  may  not  fail  of 
its  effect !  How  earnest  are  his  pleadings  in  his  closet  on  the 
holy  morning,  that,  when  he  speeds  his  Grospel-arrow,  heaven 
may  indeed  ^'  save  the  mark !  '^  With  this  heavy  burden 
upon  him,  he  goes  to  his  pulpit  to  find  the  one  he  bears  on 
his  heart  not  in  his  place,  not  there. 

Such  are  some  of  the  responsibilities  under  which  he  is 
at  times  ready  to  sink.  Should  he  not,  then,  be  free  from 
anxiety  as  to  what  he  shall  eat  and  drink,  and  wherewithal 
he  shall  be  clothed  I  Milton  says :  ^'  The  minister,  whose  call- 
ing and  end  is  spiritual,  ought  to  be  honored  as  a  father  and 
physician  of  the  soul  ( if  he  be  found  to  be  so )  with  a  son- 
like and  disciple-like  reverence,  which  is,  indeed,  the  dearest 
and  most  affectionate  honor,  most  to  be  desired  by  a  wise 
man,  and  such  as  will  easily  command  a  free  and  plentiful 
provision  of  outward  necessities,  without  his  further  care  of 
this  world."  Many  centuries  ago  the  wisest  man  who  ever 
trod  on  earth  maintained  that  work  is  entitled  to  just  wages. 
And  he  did  this  at  the  very  time  he  was  commissioning  his 
disciples  for  their  missionary  enterprise.  He  directs  them  to 
take  neither  stores  nor  wallets,  neither  bread  nor  money,  nor  to 


30  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

have  two  coats.  He  continues,  "And  into  whatsoever  house 
ye  enter,  in  the  same  house  remain,  eating  and  drinking  such 
things  as  they  give ;  for  the  laborer  is  tvorthy  of  Ms  MreJ^  In 
this  charge  the  Master  established  for  all  time  the  principle  of 
equity,  that  the  preacher  should  be  supported  by  his  hearers. 
Yet,  notwithstanding  the  reasonableness  of  this  principle, 
the  emphasis  with  which  it  is  asserted,  and  the  magnitude  of 
the  pastoral  work,  the  question  of  the  minister's  support  has, 
from  the  beginning,  been  far  from  easy  of  adjustment.  In 
the  days  of  our  fathers  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  money  fur- 
nished some  apology  for  the  shortcoming  of  the  churches  —  a 
shortcoming  illustrated  by  the  reply  of  one  of  the  early  pas- 
tors when  questioned  as  to  the  amount  of  his  salary :  ^'  My 
people  give  all  they  are  able,  and  I  take  all  I  can  get?^ 

In  1621  the  stipend  was  thus  settled,  "that  the  minister 
shall  receive  yearly  fifteen  hundred  pounds  of  tobacco  and 
sixteen  barrels  of  corn,"  which  was  estimated  at  two  hundred 
pounds  sterling.  We  find  in  Felt's  "  Ecclesiastical  History  " 
that  in  1650  "  the  magistrates  were  informed  that  the  con- 
tributions for  the  church  treasury  are  by  degrees  so  much 
abated  that  they  afford  not  any  considerable  maintenance  to 
the  teaching  of&cers,  and  that  much  of  the  wampum  brought  in 
is  such  and  so  faulty  that  the  officers  can  hardly  or  not  at  all 
pass  it  away  in  any  of  their  occasions.  The  court  thought  the 
matter  weighty  and  worthy  of  serious  consideration.  If  men 
from  corrupt  frame  withdraw  from  so  bounden  a  duty,  it  will 
be  necessary  to  order  and  settle  some  other  course  according 
to  the  laws.  A  committee  are  chosen  to  consider  by  what 
means  comfortable  maintenance  may  be  raised  and  duly  paid 
to  uphold  the  ordinances  and  encourage  the  officers." 

Mr.  Cotton's  salary  at  Plymouth,  1668,  was  eighty  pounds, 
payable,  one-third  in  wheat  or  butter,  one-third  in  rye  barley 
or  pease,  and  one-third  in  Indian  corn.  "  Brown  bread  and 
the  Gospel,"  they  said,  "is  good  fare,  and  we  have  here 
plentie  of  the  Gospel  and  many  sweet  delights  and  variety  of 
comforts." 

The  parish  of  the  Rev.  John  French,  of  Andover,  was  bound 
by  the  terms  of  his  settlement  to  supply  him  with  wood. 
But  on  one  occasion  they  had  neglected  to  provide  it,  and  the 


THE    PASTOR    AND    HIS    PAY  31 

winter  was  about  setting  in.  After  reading  the  proclama- 
tion for  Thanksgiving  on  the  preceding  Sunday,  with  great 
apparent  simplicity  he  remarked : 

^^My  brethren,  you  perceive  that  his  Excellency  has 
appointed  next  Thursday  as  the  day  of  Thanksgiving ;  and, 
according  to  custom,  it  is  my  purpose  to  prepare  two  dis- 
courses for  that  occasion,  provided  I  can  write  them  without 
a  fire." 

The  hint  took  effect,  and  before  two  o'clock  the  next  day 
his  winter's  wood  was  all  piled  up  in  his  front  yard. 

An  amusing  incident  in  exactness  of  settlement  is  related 
of  Rev.  Jacob  Patch,— a  pure,  simple-minded  man,  who  was 
educated  in  New  England,  but  became  a  pastor  in  northern 
Indiana  when  missionary  work  at  the  West  had  only  com- 
menced. After  a  few  years,  he  undertook  to  build  himself  a 
home.  The  good  people  near  a  certain  school-house,  having 
a  shingle-machine,  whose  products  they  used  as  legal  currency, 
stipulated  with  Mr.  Patch  to  deliver  a  certain  number  of  ser- 
mons at  the  price  of  a  bunch  of  shingles  for  a  sermon.  Both 
preaching  and  shingles  were  respectively  furnished,  and  the 
contracting  parties  were  mutually  satisfied.  In  finishing  the 
house,  Mr.  Patch  was  obliged  to  call  for  half  a  bunch  extra. 
When  preaching  his  farewell  sermon,  after  speaking  of  their 
pleasant  relations  and  the  good  that  he  hoped  had  been  done, 
he  alluded  to  their  contract,  and  rendered  his  account,  showing 
that  half  a  bunch  had  been  unpaid  for.  ''And  now,  my  dear 
brothers  and  sisters,"  he  concluded,  ''I  am  not  owing  you 
enough  shingles  to  come  to  a  sermon ;  but.  Providence  per- 
mitting, I  will  come  over  to  you  at  an  early  day  and  hold  a 
prayer  meeting."  "  This  he  did,"  says  the  narrator,  '^  and  the 
currency  for  change  was  satisfactory." 

a  Worthy  of  his  hire."  If  I  were  asked,  I  should  say  that, 
as  applied  to  the  minister,  this  meant  that  his  salary  should 
be  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  pay  any  old  debts  for  his  educa- 
tion, to  live  comfortably,  to  bestow  something  in  charity,  to 
educate  his  children  thoroughly,  and  to  make  some  little  pro- 
vision for  his  family  when  he  is  cast  out  of  his  stewardship 
by  men  or  removed  from  it  by  God ;  and  that  he  should  be 
able  to  do  this  without  being  obliged,  to  use  a  homely  but 


32  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

expressive  phrase,  '^  to  rob  Peter  to  pay  PauL"  But  is  the 
question  usually  treated  thus  ?  Nay,  is  not  so  close  a  bargain 
sometimes  driven  that  the  pastor's  family  are  at  their  wits' 
end  to  keep  up  a  decent  appearance  and  to  keep  out  of  debt  ? 

Some  one  writes :  "  Ministers'  salaries,  unlike  those  of  any 
other  workmen,  are  adjusted  according  to  the  necessities  of 
their  family.  I  do  not  ask  my  butcher  or  baker  how  large  a 
family  he  has  before  I  decide  what  profit  he  is  entitled  to.  I 
should  be  surprised  if  a  client  were  to  inquire  after  the  size 
of  mine  before  he  paid  me  my  retainer.  But  I  ascertain  that 
almost  the  first  question  of  a  supply  committee  is.  What 
is  the  size  of  the  candidate's  family?  For  the  understand- 
ing seems  to  be  that  the  church  give  a  support,  not  a  fair 
and  adequate  compensation.  The  scale  of  living,  not  the 
scale  of  service,  determines  salary.  Of  course,  children  are 
an  incumbrance." 

There  are,  it  is  true,  many  struggling  parishes  which,  doing 
their  very  best,  can  give  their  minister  but  a  scanty  stipend. 
Of  these  willing  but  unable  hands,  his  blood  will  not  be 
required ;  they  have  done  what  they  could.  Many  an  excel- 
lent minister  and  wife  have  devoted  themselves  to  some  such 
needy  flock,  cheerfully  sharing  their  poverty,  and  spending 
and  being  spent  in  their  service.  Verily,  they  shall  not  lose 
their  reward. 

Passing  now  to  the  parishes  better  endowed  in  this 
world's  goods,  twelve  hundred  dollars  or  a  thousand,  with  the 
use  of  a  parsonage,  is  often  considered  a  liberal  salary  for  a 
country  pastor.  And  judging  by  comparison,  it  is  really  so. 
But  would  your  merchants  and  manufacturers,  your  law- 
yers and  your  physicians  regard  this  income  as  sufficient  for 
their  support?  And  has  your  pastor  any  fewer  necessary 
expenses  ? 

As  to  the  general  proposition  that  the  laborer  is  worthy  of 
his  hire,  all  mankind  assent.  Why,  then,  should  the  pastor 
be  exempted  from  this  universal  rule  ? 

What  has  he  done  to  forfeit  those  immunities  which  every- 
body else,  not  excepting  the  boot-black  and  the  scavenger, 
may  lay  claim  to  !  I  will  tell  you  what  he  has  done.  He  has 
often  spent  ten  years  of  study  in  preparation  for  his  minis- 


THE    PASTOR    AND    HIS    PAY  33 

terial  work:  years  of  hard  toil  which  may  have  left  him 
heavily  in  debt ;  years,  when  he  has  sometimes  not  known 
which  way  to  turn  for  the  lack  of  a  few  pennies  5  when  his 
garments  have  often  been  patched  and  threadbare,  and  his 
food  scanty  and  insufficient,  and  when  he  has  been  only  too 
glad  to  teach  school,  swing  the  scythe,  hoe  corn,  or  act  the 
hostler  in  some  private  family,  so  that  he  could  thereby  relieve 
his  pressing  wants  without  abandoning  his  great  work. 

There  are  considerate  parishes  which  nobly  cancel  their 
pastor's  debts  at  the  very  outset,  so  that  he  can  enter  fair  and 
square  with  the  world  on  his  ministerial  course ;  or  which 
have  a  special  reference  to  these  debts  in  the  provision  made 
for  his  support.  But  how  many  parishioners  are  there  who 
higgle  with  their  minister  and  wrangle  with  each  other  about 
his  salary !  And  how  many  a  minister  is  left  to  struggle 
hopelessly  with  these  debts  all  his  life  long  ! 

Is  not  one  warranted  in  asking  whether  there  are  not  some 
parishes  quite  in  the  way  of  seeking  a  Gabriel  for  their  pastor, 
and  after  the  first  year  commencing  a  process  of  slow  starva- 
tion, or  taking  it  for  granted  that  the  ambrosial  diet  which 
sufficed  for  the  old  pagan  gods  is  fare  quite  substantial  enough 
for  their  minister  ? 

There  is  a  singular  kind  of  reasoning  with  regard  to  this 
profession.  If  a  minister  does  not  happen  to  be  entirely 
dependent  on  his  people  for  support,  there  are  those  who 
think  he  has  less  claim  upon  them.  Indeed,  it  is  sometimes 
quite  difficult  for  one  who  has  resources  of  his  own,  however 
small,  to  get  any  considerable  portion  of  his  stipulated  salary. 
But  do  you  complain  of  your  doctor  or  lawyer  for  charging 
the  current  fees,  because  he  does  not  depend  on  them  for 
his  daily  bread?  Or  do  you  expect  your  merchant  or  your 
grocer  to  discount  to  you  a  third  or  a  half  from  the  fair  price 
of  his  goods,  on  the  ground  of  his  being  well  to  do  in  the 
world  ^  If  there  is  reason  why  you  should  make  full  payment 
to  any  one  for  value  received,  there  is  no  less  reason  why  you 
should  make  it  to  your  minister.  And  he  who  releases  his 
people  from  this  obligation,  when  they  are  able  to  meet  it, 
countenances  an  open  wrong,  and  does  an  injury  to  them  as 
well  as  to  his  successor.  On  all  accounts,  therefore,  it  is 
3 


34  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

important  that  the  minister,  unless  among  a  missionary 
people,  should  insist  upon  an  equitable  remuneration. 

Rev.  Dr.  Codman,  of  Dorchester,  took  this  ground  with  his 
society,  knowing  that  men  attach  a  higher  value  to  what  costs 
them  something,  and  are  more  likely  to  be  benefited  by  it. 
And  the  Rev.  Mr.  Trask,  also  a  man  of  property,  said  to  his 
people  at  his  settlement,  "  I  want  you  to  understand  that  you 
are  to  pay  me  the  same  as  any  other  man,  and  at  any  time  you 
want  me  to  go,  just  leave  the  quartei^s  salary  unpaid." 

If  a  clergjTnan  of  independent  resources  happen  to  have  his 
house  furnished  a  little  more  conveniently  than  many  of  the 
houses  in  his  parish,  and  to  live  on  a  scale  somewhat  above 
the  average  of  his  people,  complaints  are  often  made.  But, 
provided  he  is  faithful  in  his  work,  mingling  freely  with 
the  lowest  as  well  as  the  highest,  there  is  not  the  smallest 
ground  for  dissatisfaction ;  and  murmurings  on  this  account 
are  unchristian  and  illiberal. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  the  clergy,  though  the  hardest 
workers  in  the  community,  are  the  poorest  paid.  Between 
1860  and  1865,  the  expense  of  living  increased  one  hundred  per 
cent.  In  respect  to  one  thousand  ministers  in  eight  different 
denominations,  the  average  increase  of  salary  and  gratuities 
during  that  time  was  only  twenty  per  cent.,  while,  during  the 
same  time,  the  increase  of  wages  to  the  common  laborer  was 
fifty  per  cent.,  and  that  of  the  profits  of  trade  and  manufact- 
ures one  hundred  per  cent.,  thus  showing  the  disproportionate 
remuneration  of  ministerial  labor  in  comparison  with  other 
employments. 

A  few  years  since  there  were  not  far  from  five  thousand 
clergymen  in  our  prosperous  country  who  received  an  annual 
salarj^  of  less  than  five  hundred  dollars,  thus  making  —  accord- 
ing to  some  writer —  '^  every  fifth  church  in  the  nation  a  town 
poor-house,  and  keeping  its  minister  a  pauper." 

"  The  average  pay  of  Christian  ministers  in  this  country ,'' 
says  one,  "is  the  same  with  the  better  class  of  manual  day 
laborers,  and,  of  course  much  less  than  the  pay  of  journeymen 
mechanics." 

Another  writer :  ^'  I  have  seen  a  minister  become  thinner  and 
feebler,  less  capable  of  energetic  oratory,  of  serene,  effective 


THE    PASTOR    AND    HIS    PAY  35 

thought,  and  of  brisk  and  joyous  activity  in  pastoral  work, 
simply  because  he  could  not  afford  to  supply  his  table  with 
a  sufficiency  of  nutritious  food.  There  are  such  ministers 
with  families  to  support,  who  have  felt  constrained  to  leave  the 
pulpit  and  go  into  secular  business  as  the  only  way  of  obeying 
the  Scripture  injunction,  ^  Owe  no  man  anything.' " 

The  following  racy  sketch  invests  the  subject  with  a  certain 
grim  humor : 

" '  Father  Tutwiler,'  says  the  moderator  of  a  Western  pres- 
bytery, who  calls  this  name  in  its  order  upon  the  roll, 
^  Father  Tutwiler,  please  state  what  compensation  you  have 
received  for  your  services  during  the  year  past,' 

"  The  person  addressed  clears  his  throat.  ^  Yes,  Mr.  Mod- 
erator. I  preached  this  last  year,  first  Sabbath  of  the  month. 
Limestone  Ridge  5  second  Sabbath,  Boggy  Bottom  ;  third  Sab- 
bath, Plum  Creek ;  fourth  Sabbath,  Smith's  Hollow ;  fifth  Sab- 
bath, when  there  was  one,  at  Jackson's  Crossing  or  wherever 
was  opportunity.  It  has  been  rather  a  hard  year,  brethren. 
I  had  to  travel  late  Saturday  night  several  times  getting  to 
Boggy  Bottom,  the  mud  was  so  very  deep.  Smith's  Hol- 
low, the  church  is  on  the  other  side.  I  had  to  swim  twice ; 
Plum  Creek  was  past  fording.  I  had  to  camp  out  one  night 
until  it  ran  down.  I  managed  to  get  over  the  rheumatism 
before  next  Lord's  Day ' 

^'  '■  But,  Father  Tutwiler,'  the  moderator  urges, '  the  question 
is  now  upon  compensation.  What  salary  did  you  receive  from 
all  these  various  charges  ? ' 

^' '  Compensation.  Yes,  I  know,  Mr.  Moderator.  I  left  it 
to  the  people.  There  was  no  written  agreement.  The  people 
are  poor  and  few  and  scattered.  Five  Points,  Limestone 
Ridge,  Boggy  Bottom,  Plum  Creek,  Smith's  Hollow,  Jackson's 
Crossing,  important  centers.     My  horse  gave  out,  brethren.' 

" '  Father  Tutwiler,  your  compensa ' 

"  ^  Left  it  to  the  people,  Moderator.  I  never  missed  a  single 
Sabbath  at  any  point.  At  the  end  of  the  year  the  only  com- 
pensation I  received ' 

^'Now,  what  that  minister  said  then  and  there  is  literal 
fact.  The  writer  being  pressed  at  a  certain  synod  to  make 
remarks  daring  the  hour  set  apart  to  home  missions,  stated 


36  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

the  fact  in  question  as  part  of  said  remarks.  He  almost 
regretted  doing  so.  Possibly  the  hearers  thought  the  speaker 
mistaken.  One  excellent  brother  was  exasperated  into  making 
a  speech  denouncing  Father  Tutwiler  and  all  laborers  like  him 
for  submitting  to  such  treatment,  degrading  themselves  and 
spoiling  the  churches.  Very  likely  !  But  the  dear  old  Father 
Tutwiler  has  been  in  the  receipt  some  years  now  and  will  be 
forever,  from  the  hands  of  Christ  in  person,  of  ample  reward. 
If  it  is  any  satisfaction  to  know  it,  every  individual  of  those 
failing  to  do  his  duty  in  the  matter  shall  give  due  account 
to  the  same  Master. 

"Besides,  Father  Tutwiler  was  very  dull,  extremely  unin- 
teresting, listened  to  merely  because  it  was  he  or  no  minister  at 
all.  *  We  would  rather  pay  that  blessed  old  soul  not  to  preach,' 
good  Christians  remarked  who  felt  it  a  duty  to  attend.  Yet 
there  is  many  a  field  where  it  is  just  such  a  messenger  or  none. 
Father  Tutwiler  (of  course,  that  is  not  his  real  name)  had 
received  a  thorough  collegiate  and  theological  training  j  must 
have  been,  at  least,  a  much  stronger  preacher  in  his  earlier 
days.  Yet  poverty,  care,  work  upon  his  fragment  of  a  farm, 
mortification  until  it  became  his  life-long  bread,  association 
chiefly  with  the  unlettered  in  his  rounds,  and  the  like,  had 
slowly  deeducated  the  man  !  But,  if  his  sermon  was  nothing, 
what  of  his  hymns.  Scriptures,  prayers  at  every  service? 
What  of  his  baptisms,  breaking  the  bread  and  giving  the 
cup  ?  Frankly,  I  do  believe  the  Master  has  meaning  in  leav- 
ing as  long  as  he  does  every  such  servant ;  I  do  believe  Jesus 
rates  such  more  highly,  here  and  hereafter,  than  many  a 
minister  with  a  thousand-fold  the  talent  and  the  salary.  The 
practical  wisdom  of  admitting  "young  men  merely  because 
pious  to  the  ministry  is  not  the  question  here ;  it  is  of  the 
actual  Father  Tutwiler  I  am  speaking. 

"  ^  Compensation  ?  For  the  year  ?  I  was  quite  sick.  Moder- 
ator,' he  said, '  at  Smith's  Hollow,  in  consequence  of  my  wetting. 
The  friends  with  whom  I  staid  let  me  have  their  vial  of  pare- 
goric. Monday,  before  leaving,  I  offered  to  return  it.  "  Oh  ! 
no.  Father  Tutwiler ,''  they  said,  "you  may  need  it  again. 
Keep  it.  Father  Tutwiler,  keep  it,  keep  it."  And  that,  Moder- 
ator, is  all  the  compensation  I  have  received  from  the  points 


THE    PASTOR    AND    HIS    PAY  37 

I  have  mentioned  for  my  labors  during  the  year!^  Your 
incredulity,  reader,  may  spoil  your  smile.  But  I  cannot  help 
that ;  it  is  simple  f act.'^ 

"Does  not  the  Protestant  Church  teach  celibacy?"  asks 
some  one.  "  Let  a  young  minister,  not  in  the  hope  and  trust 
of  inexperience,  but  with  practical  truth,  go  from  church  to 
church,  and  compare  accurately  the  salaries  with  the  cost  of 
living,  and  he  will  find  an  argument  for  it  more  stern  and  con- 
vincing than  all  the  Roman  dogmas.'^ 

In  view  of  such  facts,  it  would  not  be  strange  if  there  should 
be  a  falling  off  in  the  ministerial  ranks.  In  an  article  which 
appeared  in  the  Bihliotheca  Sacra  some  years  since  on  the 
question,  "  What  can  be  done  for  augmenting  the  number  of 
Christian  ministers  ? "  Professor  Park  writes :  "  The  sons  of 
clergymen  !  They  are  often  the  very  last  men  who  can  be  per- 
suaded to  enter  the  profession  of  their  ancestors.  They  dread 
the  fiery  processes  in  which  their  parents  were  burned.  This  is 
the  language  of  one  :  '  I  remember  that  salary  of  five  hundred 
doUars  which  was  covenanted  to  my  father,  and  I  remember 
those  small  driblets  in  which,  months  after  it  was  due,  that  sal- 
ary was  paid,  but  not  entirely  paid  5  I  cannot  forget  the  anxiety 
of  my  father  about  his  debts  for  my  school-books  and  my  col- 
lege board.  The  sons  of  laymen  must  take  their  turn  and  go 
into  the  ministry;  I  know  too  much  ! '  The  language  of  another 
is :  ^  Do  you  tell  me  that  I  must  be  a  minister  ?  Tell  not  me 
that.  Tell  that  to  the  marines.  I  am  young,  but  I  have 
learned  something.  I  cannot  forget  the  wan  countenance  of 
my  mother  as  she  listened  to  the  complaints  of  the  parishioners 
against  the  words,  the  manners,  and  the  dress  of  her  husband 
and  herself  and  her  children,  and  as  she  took  the  last  look  of 
the  parsonage  where  her  children  were  born,  and  where  she  had 
tended  her  frugal  garden  of  herbs  and  flowers.  She  went  in  a 
sort  of  exile  to  a  second  parish,  and  then,  as  in  another  banish- 
ment, to  a  third ;  when  again  she  found  no  rest  until  she  had 
her  dismission  from  the  church  militant.' " 

Abundant,  however,  as  is  the  evidence  of  injustice  and  wrong 
on  the  part  of  our  parishes,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  there 
is  another  side  to  the  subject.     It  is  a  painful  admission,  but 


38  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

it  cannot  be  denied  that  there  are  mercenary  ministers, —  we 
devoutly  hope  not  many, —  men  who  apparently  act  on  the 
principle  of  getting  all  they  can  5  men,  some  of  them,  with  a 
fair  support,  who  are  grasping  and  improvident,  who  are  con- 
tinually getting  into  needless  debt,  and  looking  to  their  people 
to  get  them  out ;  who  are  always  dissatisfied  and  grumbling ; 
and  who  invariably  conclude  that  their  duty  lies  where  the 
largest  salary  invites.  Men  of  this  character,  invested  with 
the  sacred  office,  are  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing.  From  all 
such  may  the  church  be  speedily  delivered ! 

It  is  a  dark  picture  that  I  have  been  spreading  on  the  can- 
vas. It  is,  however,  due  to  the  churches  to  say  that  ignorance 
and  lack  of  consideration  have  much  to  do  with  this  wide- 
spread and  singular  injustice.  Their  privations,  self-denials, 
and  sufferings  are  not  often  on  the  lips  of  clergymen. 

It  must  be  admitted,  moreover,  that  comparatively  few 
have  any  idea  how  much  greater  are  the  minister's  ordinary 
expenses  than  those  of  the  average  members  of  his  congrega- 
tion, while  many  have  a  very  exaggerated  estimate  of  his  per- 
quisites. And  even  in  cases  where  a  suspicion  is  entertained 
that  there  may  be  some  lack,  one  looks  to  another,  the  church 
waiting  for  the  officers  to  move,  the  officers  waiting  for  the 
more  wealthy  members,  and  these  rich  members  in  turn  wait- 
ing for  some  church  action.  Thus,  ^'  what  is  everybody's  busi- 
ness is  nobody's." 

Sometimes  all  this  goes  on  from  sheer  habit.  There  are 
many  excellent  people  who,  if  they  candidly  looked  into  the 
matter,  would  not  only  make  their  minister  no  exception  to 
the  principle  of  equitable  remuneration,  but,  with  a  generous 
appreciation  of  the  blessings  they  receive  through  a  faithful 
Gospel  ministry,  would  gladly  act  on  the  apostles'  higher  law : 
"  Let  him  that  is  taught  in  the  word  communicate  unto  him 
that  teacheth  in  all  good  things."  Indeed,  justice  requires  the 
hearty  admission  that  an  improvement  has  been  gradually 
taking  place.  From  the  statistics  we  learn  that  in  some  parts 
of  the  country  there  is  a  slow  but  steady  increase  of  the 
average  salaries.  So  that,  however  dark  the  outlook  still  may 
be,  there  has  clearly  been  sufficient  progress  to  indicate  a 
juster  view  of  what  is  due  to  the  ministry,  and  to  serve  as  an 
omen  of  a  brighter  future. 


THE    PASTOR    AND    HIS    PAY  39 

Looking  on  this  subject  in  a  merely  temporal  light,  dark 
clouds  have  confronted  us ;  but  we  are  very  sure  that  on  the 
other  side  they  are  shining  with  a  light  that  is  not  of  earth. 
It  is  the  occasional  glimpses  of  this  exceeding  brightness  as 
through  some  sudden  rift  it  breaks  upon  the  eye  of  faith, 
that  give  to  the  earnest  pastor  that  devotion  to  his  work,  the 
explanation  of  which  is,  "  The  love  of  Christ  constraineth 
me."  "As  it  is  written,  For  thy  sake  we  are  killed  all  the  day 
long.  Yet  in  all  these  things  we  are  more  than  conquerors 
through  him  that  loved  us." 

A  Harvard  graduate,  when  hesitating  between  the  law  and 
the  ministry,  called  on  President  Walker,  and  made  known 
his  perplexities.  The  doctor  spoke  of  the  law  as  a  good  pro- 
fession, stating  its  advantages.  But  when  the  young  man 
said  to  him,  "  I  have  thought  also  of  the  ministry,"  the  presi- 
dent made  very  clear  and  emphatic  his  own  view  of  its  bene- 
fits by  saying:  "  The  professional  labors  of  the  minister  are 
in  the  same  line  with  his  highest  spiritual  improvement,"  and 
thus  decided  the  young  student  to  prepare  for  the  ministry. 

Writes  a  theological  professor  of  wide  experience:  ''  There 
is  many  a  minister  who  is  happier  in  his  work  than  he  could 
be  in  any  other  sphere.  '  I  would  not  exchange  my  scene  of 
duty  for  any  other  scene  on  earth.'  Who  utters  these  words? 
They  are  uttered  not  so  often  by  the  farmer,  or  merchant,  or 
physician,  or  barrister,  or  scientific  teacher,  as  by  the  pastor  j 
not  so  often  by  the  pastor  of  an  affluent  parish  as  by  the  mis- 
sionary in  our  new  States  or  in  foreign  lands." 

A  Methodist  clergyman,  Dr.  Nathan  Bangs,  had  a  wise 
meaning  in  his  reply  when  an  aged  layman  who,  against  his 
convictions,  had  turned  away  from  the  ministry,  asked  him: 
"  Is  it  possible  for  a  man,  after  having  through  a  long  life  re- 
mained out  of  the  office  to  which  God  was  calling  him,— is  it 
possible  for  such  a  man  to  get  into  heaven  ? "  Dr.  Bangs  bowed 
his  head,  and  after  deep  thought  made  answer:  "Brother, 
there  may  be  a  possibility  of  his  getting  into  heaven,  but 
another  will  take  his  crown." 

"  I  went  into  the  pulpit,"  one  narrates,  with  extreme 
reluctance  and  diffidence.  There  has  not  been  a  week  for 
twenty-five  years  when  that  sense  of  unfitness  has  not  dis- 


40  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

tressed  me;  and  yet  the  dear  Master  placed  me  where  I  was 
loved,  and  where  I  also  loved.  The  tenderest  recollections  of 
my  life  are  associated  with  my  parish  in  the  country,  every 
square  foot  of  which  has  a  sort  of  sacredness  to  me ;  the  houses 
the  roads,  the  marriage  altars,  the  graves,  all  make  up  a  totality 
of  experience  that  I  would  not  exchange  for  the  fortune  of  a 
Stewart  or  an  Astor.  And  yet,  pecuniarily,  I  was  often  strait- 
ened ;  but  if  this  were  my  dying  testimony,  I  would  bear  witness 
to  the  faithfulness  of  the  Chief  Shepherd  in  giving  me  a  compe- 
tence. Had  I  my  life  to  live  over,  I  would  be  glad  to  have  it 
mainly  as  it  has  been,  except  unfaithfulness.'' 


I 


VI 
DUES    NOT    DONATIONS 

N  a  Boston  paper,  some  time  since,  appeared  an  aceoimt 
_  of  a  remarkable  "  old-time  "  donation,  written  by  a  Cam- 
bridge gentleman,  the  giver  and  receiver  being  each  his 
grandfather. 

It  was  the  custom  in  those  early  days  to  supplement  the 
small  salaries  of  clergymen  from  the  farms,  wood  being  one 
of  the  chief  contributions.  One  day,  as  Colonel  Leonard  Stone, 
of  Templeton,  was  driving  a  very  large  load  of  wood  to  the  par- 
sonage occupied  by  Dr.  Wellington,  his  pastor,  he  was  playfully 
accosted  by  his  brother :  "  Why  don't  you  take  your  minister 
a  load  of  wood  while  you  are  about  it?"  Colonel  Leonard, 
who  had  been  sawing  out  lumber  at  the  mill,  promptly 
responded,  "  I  '11  give  the  minister  as  big  a  load  as  you  will 
take."  The  challenge  was  at  once  accepted.  A  sled  was  built 
thirty  feet  long  and  eight  mde,  holding  twelve  cords  at  a 
layer.  On  the  appointed  day,  forty  cords  of  huge  slabs  were 
piled  on  the  sled,  and  with  one  hundred  and  sixty  oxen  hitched 
on,  the  team  started.  People  flocked  to  see  it  go  by,  children 
being  let  out  of  school  to  join  the  wondering  crowd.  On  the 
second  day  it  reached  its  journey's  end,  where  it  remained 
loaded  for  a  long  time,  strangers  coming  from  far  and  near  to 
look  upon  it.  It  hardly  need  be  said  that  the  minister  was  not 
out  of  wood  for  many  years. 

It  is  a  simple  ethical  principle  that  the  payment  of  an  hon- 
est debt  is  in  no  sense  a  charity.  And  well  would  it  be  for  the 
ministers  if  some  of  our  churches  better  understood  this. 

Are  donation  visits  expedient?  This  is  a  question  more 
easily  asked  than  answered,  since  the  answer  involves  not  only 
latitudes  and  longitudes,  but  modes  and  tenses.  In  some  farm- 
ing communities,  it  is  difficult  to  raise  the  stipulated  salary  in 
money.  In  such  cases  if  a  fair  contract  is  made  in  the  begin- 
ning, inclusive  of  these  visits,  and  it  is  understood  that  the 
pastor  is  not  hampered  by  them,  there  may  be  no  very  serious 

41 


42  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

objection  to  the  arrangement.  Yet  if  a  minister  accepts  a  call, 
with  the  expectation  of  receiving  what  is  equivalent  to  a  cer- 
tain sum  of  money  in  the  various  articles  thus  given,  he  is  very 
likely  to  be  disappointed. 

Suppose  three  or  four  barrels  of  apples  and  as  many  of  pota- 
toes, with  a  proportionate  amount  of  other  vegetables,  are  an 
ample  supply  for  a  minister's  family.  Yet  at  one  of  his  dona- 
tion visits,  it  so  happens  that,  as  these  articles  are  unusually 
plenty,  barrel  after  barrel  of  potatoes  and  apples  is  rolled  into 
his  cellar,  and  uncounted  quantities  of  beets,  carrots,  turnips, 
and  onions  are  emptied  into  its  corners  and  arches,  making 
heaps  large  enough  to  supply  some  little  Fifth  Avenue  hotel; 
while  in  the  kitchen  bags  of  dried  apples  are  scattered  around 
in  the  same  masterly  profusion. 

Then,  as  it  happens  to  be  ^' butchering-time,"  fifteen  or 
twenty  farmers,  who  have  been  killing  beef,  each  bring  a  nice 
roasting-piece,  and  as  many  who  have  been  killing  pigs,  each 
a  piece  of  fresh  pork  —  these  various  contributions,  according 
to  parish  computation,  making  up  the  stipulated  sum. 

The  minister's  eye,  well  satisfied,  surveys  the  prospective 
roast  beef  as  so  much  of  contribution  to  his  physical  forces. 
But  the  sight  of  that  goodly  row  of  spare-ribs,  though  it 
would  have  put  Charles  Lamb  into  ecstasies,  is  just  the  least 
bit  in  the  world  embarrassing  to  the  pastor's  wife,  since  she 
does  not  consider  surfeiting  on  fresh  pork  particularly  desir- 
able in  a  sanitary  point  of  yiew. 

Now  what  is  to  be  done  with  this  superfluity  of  good  things  ? 
It  is  not  in  the  parson's  line  to  go  into  market  with  them. 
So  he  must  either  let  his  stock  spoil,  or  dispose  of  it  in  trade, 
with  great  trouble  and  perhaps  greater  sacrifice,  or  devote 
it  to  those  who  in  these  commodities  are  needier  than  himself. 

I  am  no  better  oif  for  possessing  a  set  of  blacksmith's  tools 
which  I  know  not  how  to  use.  And  if  a  retired  tailor  or  shoe- 
maker or  carpenter  takes  it  into  his  head  to  bring  as  his 
offering  his  implements  of  labor,  I  am  not  one  farthing  the 
richer.  Nor  will  a  gold-headed  cane  or  an  elegant  silver 
pitcher  help  me  to  pay  for  a  cord  of  wood  or  a  barrel  of  flour 
for  which  I  am  in  debt.  So  when  the  avails  of  a  donation 
visit  are  estimated  at  a  certain  value,  we  need  to  inquire  what 
they  are  worth  to  the  minister. 


DUES   NOT    DONATIONS  43 

'^  Dear  me  !  ^  exclaimed  a  pastor  as  he  unrolled  a  gorgeous 
pair  of  slippers  suggestive  of  Joseph's  coat  of  many  colors,  and 
the  fifth  pair  that  had  been  presented  to  him  —  "  Dear  me  !  if 
it  were  only  a  new  pair  of  boots  !  " 

However  equitably  disposed  a  people  may  be,  there  are 
unavoidable  difftculties  connected  with  any  such  mode  of  set- 
tlement. And  it  should  be  remembered  that,  with  wise  man- 
agement, money  would  go  very  much  farther  than  many  of 
the  articles  given.  A  wide  margin,  therefore,  should  be  allowed 
for  this  difference. 

There  are  aspects  in  which  these  visits  are  of  doubtful  ten- 
dency, if  not  a  positive  evil ;  as,  for  instance,  where  a  salary 
has  been  whittled  down  to  the  very  tiniest  point,  and  a  dona- 
tion visit  is  gotten  up  as  a  cover  or  pretext  for  this  injustice  — 
a  sort  of  salve  to  the  sore  parish  conscience. 

For  a  minister  to  receive  a  call  on  a  meager  provision  for 
his  support,  with  a  sort  of  intimation  that  it  shall  be  made  up 
in  presents,  is  a  grievous  offense  to  his  self-respect,  to  which  no 
man  ought  to  submit.  Not  for  a  single  moment  should  one  be 
made  to  feel  under  obligations  for  what  are  his  righteous  dues. 

How  many  tears  of  vexation  have  been  shed  at  the  incon- 
siderateness  sometimes  evinced  in  such  matters!  Wrote  a 
minister's  daughter  to  her  mother:  ''  Why  is  it,  when  father's 
salary  is  the  merest  pittance,  that  our  people  must  bestow 
their  donations  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  us  feel  that  we  are 
objects  of  charity,  giving  a  little  tea  or  sugar  or  a  piece  of 
cheese  with  an  air  as  if  conferring  some  great  favor,  and  col- 
lecting a  few  dollars  and  cents  by  passing  around  a  hat  in  our 
presence  ?  It  makes  my  cheeks  burn  for  shame  that  they  have 
no  more  feeling  than  to  treat  us  as  if  we  were  beggars." 

Ah,  do  not  thus  pour  the  gall  of  bitterness  into  your  min- 
ister's cup.  Such  humiliating  dependence  is  a  gross  indignity ; 
and  not  only  so,  but  it  sometimes  operates  as  a  sore  tempta- 
tion to  a  pastor,  offering  a  premium  to  silence  when  he  knows 
he  ought  to  speak.  Not  that  he  would  care  for  himself; 
indeed,  he  may  have  something  of  that  old  Lutheran  valor 
which  would  lead  to  the  discharge  of  duty  in  the  face  of  as 
many  devils  as  there  are  tiles  on  the  roofs  of  the  houses.  But 
when  a  man's  family  is  half  starved,  that  is  another  thing,  and 
even  a  brave  soldier  may  be  pardoned  for  faltering  here. 


44  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

To  make  the  case  more  specific,  suppose  that  in  the  parish 
there  is  a  rich  and  large-hearted,  though  somewhat  conceited 
and  irascible  man,  whose  annual  offering  is  a  handsome  sum 
of  money.  Now  the  question  of  the  minister's  sending  his 
son  to  school  during  a  certain  year  turns  on  his  receiving  this 
accustomed  amount.  But  it  so  happens  that  as  to  the  tem- 
perance movement,  or  some  other  moral  question,  said  parish- 
ioner may  take  a  different  view  from  his  pastor.  If  the  latter 
feels  called  upon  to  make  a  public  expression  of  his  opinions, 
this  man  takes  offense,  withholds  his  usual  offering,  and  the 
poor  boy  must  stay  at  home.  It  is  easy  to  say  what  one  ought 
to  do  in  view  of  such  probabilities,  but  it  is  not  always  so 
easy,  even  for  a  resolute  man,  to  do  it. 

Considering  that  parish  feelings  are  such  an  uncertain 
quantity,  a  minister  ought  not  to  be  subjected,  for  his  regu- 
lar support,  to  their  fluctuations  or  hap-hazards,  and  on  no 
account  should  anything  affecting  his  daily  bread  be  allowed 
to  interpose  a  temptation  to  remit  his  outspeaking  faithful- 
ness. If  it  is  out  of  the  question  for  you  to  raise  the  stipu- 
lated amount  in  money,  and  you  are  honestly  intent  on 
making  up  the  deficiency,  a  delicate  consideration  wdU  enable 
you  to  do  it  in  an  acceptable  way. 

Human  nature  is  liable  to  strange  freaks.  I  have  heard  of 
people,  weU-meaning,  but  not  remarkably  intelligent  or  open- 
handed,  who  somehow  retain  a  feeling  of  ownership  in  what 
has  come  from  the  parish  to  the  parsonage.  If  the  donated 
bonnets,  or  sacks,  or  dresses,  or  chairs,  or  carpets  do  not  hap- 
pen to  be  used  precisely  according  to  their  notions,  they  feel 
aggrieved,  and  do  not  scruple  to  grumble  about  it.  They 
'^  don't  want  to  see  their  money  misapplied."  Do  you  sup- 
pose the  inmates  of  the  parsonage  are  ignorant  of  this 
grumbling  ?  Think  w^hat  an  unsavory  pill  it  must  be  to  them ! 
You  commit  wrong  enough  in  making  them  eat  the  bread  of 
dependence,  without  embittering  it  by  such  reproaches. 

It  is  a  great  art,  that  of  making  presents  so  as  not  to  cause 
more  pain  than  pleasure.  One  man  will  give  twenty-five 
cents  as  if  it  were  a  hundred  dollars,  and  another  man  will 
give  a  hundred  dollars  as  if  it  were  twenty-five  cents.  You 
may  have  had  bestowed  on  you  a  costly  gift  in  such  a  charm- 


DUES    NOT    DONATIONS  45 

ing  way  that  you  not  only  feel  no  burden  of  obligation,  but 
almost  fancy  that  you  have  obliged  the  donor.  This  is  '^  giv~ 
ing  like  a  prince." 

Again,  you  may  have  been  made  positively  uncomfortable, 
if  not  angry,  by  some  trifling  present  which  you  could 
not  well  refuse,  simply  from  the  grand  air  in  which  it  was 
bestowed.  There  is  scarcely  anything  harder  for  a  sensi- 
tive person  to  endure  than  this  patronizing,  nor  ought  one  to 
endure  it.  If,  therefore,  it  is  worth  while  to  have  donation 
parties,  it  is  also  worth  while  to  seek  out  the  most  welcome 
modes  of  conducting  them ;  and  where  they  are  planned  for 
the  purpose  of  eking  out  a  scanty  stipend,  it  is  all  the  more 
important  that  they  be  managed  with  the  nicest  sense  of 
propriety. 

In  your  commendable  design  of  making  up  a  purse  for 
your  minister's  family,  a  little  Yankee  tact  will  help  you  to 
a  more  delicate  and  agreeable  way  of  accomplishing  it  than 
passing  a  hat  or  plate  in  their  presence.  And  a  little  Chris- 
tian consideration  will  prevent  your  carrying  anything  to  the 
parsonage  simply  because  it  has  been  lying  round  your  house, 
and  nobody  wants  it,  and  you  are  glad  to  get  rid  of  it.  If 
you  wish  to  express  your  interest  by  some  gift,  be  sure  to  get 
what  you  know  will  be  of  service,  even  if  you  have  to  exercise 
considerable  ingenuity  in  finding  this  out. 

There  is  no  reason,  in  the  nature  of  things,  why  dona- 
tion or  surprise  visits,  as  they  are  sometimes  called,  may  not 
only  be  agreeable,  but  productive  of  good  results,  both  to 
pastor  and  people.  The  instances  are  not  infrequent  where 
this  has  proved  the  case.  But  such  results  are  far  more  likely 
to  follow  where  an  adequate  support  has  been  provided,  and 
these  visits  are  simply  the  tokens  of  an  affectionate  interest 
or  the  overflow  of  good- will,  rather  than  a  substitute  for  an 
equitable  support.  Under  circumstances  of  this  kind,  as 
expressions  of  appreciation  for  your  minister,  they  serve  as  a 
grateful  encouragement  to  him  in  his  labors,  besides  proving 
a  substantial  assistance. 

But,  be  these  donations  great  or  smaU,  it  is  the  fashion 
nowadays  to  proclaim  them  to  the  world.  Whether  designed 
as  a  tribute  to  pastor  or  parish,  the  expediency  of  such  proc- 


46  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

lamation  is  very  questionable.  ^'If  unable  to  pay  a  large 
salary/'  says  the  Easy  Chair,  "  and  you  occasionally  make  up 
a  purse,  why  not  make  it  a  point  of  honor  that  nobody  men- 
tions it  in  the  newspapers  ?  What  is  the  object  ?  It  is  the 
glorification  of  the  generous  society  that  presents  the  purse. 
It  is  not,  as  somebody  claims,  a  beautiful  public  tribute  of 
respect  and  regard  for  their  minister,  for  he  knows,  and  they 
know,  and  everybody  knows  that  the  sole  public  impression  is 
that  poor  Blank  must  have  been  very  sore  pressed  indeed 
when  he  is  eloquently  grateful  for  fifty  cents,  or  a  new  hat, 
or  a  coat,  or  whatever  it  may  be.  The  whole  ceremony  is 
Mrs.  Grundy's  attempt  to  eat  her  cake  and  have  it  at  the  same 
time." 

At  a  meeting  of  a  presbytery  in  the  Empire  State,  a  ruling 
elder,  in  reading  the  report  of  a  certain  church,  gave  the  min- 
ister's salary  and  donations  as  sixteen  hundred  dollars. 

"  What 's  that  ?"  inquired  one  of  the  divines  present.  "  What 
is  your  pastor's  salary  ? " 

''  Salary  and  donations,  sixteen  hundred  dollars." 

"  I  am  not  inquiring  about  donations,  but  about  the  salary." 

^'  A  thousand  dollars." 

"  Put  it  down  so,  then." 

"  But  how  shall  the  donations  be  reported  ? " 

One  suggested  under  the  head  of  "  Miscellaneous '' ;  another, 
'^  Ministerial  Relief  "  ;  when  an  elder,  in  a  grave  tone  but  with 
a  merry  twinkle  of  his  eye,  proposed,  "  Enter  it  in  the  column, 
'Support  of  the  Church  Poor.'" 

When  will  people  learn  "  that  justice  is  better  than  dona- 
tion, and  that  the  principle  of  work  and  wages  is  holier  than 
that  of  pious  mendicancy  "  ? 


VII 

THE    PASTOR'S    VACATION 

"  IX/T-^-^^^'^^^'^  never  used  to  have  a  vacation ''  is  an  argu- 

Xt_L  ment  with  many.  ^'  Why  should  there  be  a  change 
in  the  order  of  things  ?  " 

Such  persons  fail  to  realize  how  much  greater  and  more 
constant  is  the  pressure  upon  clergymen  in  these  days  of 
activity,  and  that  seasons  of  entire  freedom  from  care,  and  of 
recreation,  are  a  kind  of  safety-valve  for  hard  brain-workers. 
Says  one  of  large  experience : 

"  Every  clergyman  should,  on  his  settlement,  reserve  the 
right  of  four  or  six  Sundays  of  each  year,  as  a  ministerial  va- 
cation. To  many  men  this  rest  is  indispensable,  and  to  all  it 
will  be  beneficial.  It  is  not  any  more  the  interest  of  the  cler- 
gyman than  of  his  parish.  They  will  obtain  more  work,  and 
better,  out  of  ten  or  eleven  months  than  out  of  the  full  twelve. 
This  necessity  of  rest  is  universal.  And  it  is  urgent  in  pro- 
portion to  the  cerebral  excitement  which  men  are  obliged  to 
undergo.  Upon  no  other  class  of  men  is  there  a  strain  brought 
more  severe  or  more  continuous  than  upon  clergymen  in  large 
towns  and  cities.  To  say  that  lawyers,  physicians,  and  mer- 
chants are  severely  taxed  is  only  to  bring  them  under  the 
same  necessity. 

"  If  one  will  have  good  work  one  must  have  good  tools,  and 
to  have  good  tools  one  must  be  allowed  to  sharpen  them. 
Vacation  is  a  true  whetstone,  on  which  overtaxed  men 
sharpen  their  faculties  for  better  work." 

Read  what  one  of  our  pastors  writes  to  an  editor : 

"  When  the  weekly  calls  were  made  and  duties  done,  when  sermons 
were  ready  for  Sunday,  and  the  wife  in  her  short  recess  between  the  two 
weeks  was  reading  your  letter  from  the  Springs,  dear  brother,  our  thoughts 
have  wandered  perverse.  We  have  contemplated  the  pleasure  of  a  yearly 
visit  to  Saratoga ;  the  exhilaration  of  a  mountain  climb,  with  care  flung 
to  the  winds ;  the  invigoration  of  a  week  at  the  seaside.  We  have  calcu- 
lated expenses  until  our  head  has  been  in  an  arithmetical  maze.    We  have 

47 


48  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

wondered  if  we  were  yet  in  the  gall  of  bitterness,  because  some  way 
these  charming  letters  from  A,  B,  and  C  set  our  hearts  aching  over  early 
fading  wives  and  impossible  impossibilities.  None  the  less  we  rejoice 
with  them.  They  are  faithful  workers,  men  of  humblest  and  most  sympa- 
thizing spirit,  and  we  are  glad  in  their  prosperity. 

''It  is  not  strange  if,  in  the  course  of  our  meditations,  we  have  pon- 
dered much  on  the  question,  What  should  be  the  minister's  hire  ?  Does 
he  need  a  vacation  ?  Excess  of  work  and  lack  of  recreation  are  wearing 
out  ministerial  stock  disproportionately  fast.  There  has  been  a  great 
change  in  public  sentiment  within  a  few  years;  yet  there  is  room  for 
further  progress.  This  report  of  good  things  for  the  minority  serves  by 
contrast  to  make  the  '  shady '  side  still  shadier.  Enlightened  New  Eng- 
land even  abounds  in  parishes,  scattered  among  her  hills  and  vales,  where 
the  demand  for  a  vacation,  or  a  salary  which  should  cover  the  expenses  of 
a  vacation,  would  be  presumption  quite  unpardonable.  One  society  urges 
against  it  that  the  former  minister  lived  to  a  good  old  age  without  any 
yearly  vacation ;  and  if  he,  why  not  in  these  days  ?  It  is  overlooked  that 
these  are  days  of  tenfold  activity,  as  compared  with  the  former  times. 
We  work  faster,  think  faster,  live  faster. 

''Another  society  pleads  that,  however  desirable  a  vacation  might 
seem,  the  watchman  on  the  walls  of  Zion  should  be  ever  at  his  post.  We 
need  not  bring  up  the  hackneyed  illustration  of  the  bow  always  bent. 

"Still  another  committee  responds  coldly  to  the  plea  for  a  vacation. 
We  have  none ;  why  should  the  minister  fare  better  than  we  ?  Simply, 
friends,  because  his  work  is  more  wearing.  You,  with  your  stirring  busi- 
ness life,  or  your  farming,  or  your  mechanical  labor,  have  no  conception 
of  the  wear  and  tear  of  nerve  there  is  in  what  seems  to  you  so  easy.  The 
minister  is  a  brain-worker.  His  labor  is  not  completed  at  four,  six,  or 
nine  o'clock.  The  burden  rests  on  him  day  and  night.  He  renders  an 
imintermitting  service  of  watchfulness  and  responsibility.  His  life,  even 
with  most  faithful  pastoral  labor,  must  be  largely  sedentary  and  intro- 
verted. Hence  a  tendency  toward  morbid  views,  toward  undue  sensitive- 
ness and  depression,  peculiar  to  his  position.  The  minister  does  not  ask 
to  'fare  '  better  than  you.     It  is  yours  to  see  that  he  fares  as  well. 

"A  fourth  society  says :  '  If  the  minister  wants  a  vacation,  let  him  take 
it.'  This  sounds  well,  bating  a  little  dryness  in  the  wording.  But  have 
you  made  it  possible  ?  The  mass  of  those  in  the  ministry,  though  their 
labor  may  not  be  one  whit  behind  in  joy  and  blessedness,  are  not  abun- 
dantly endowed,  nor  even  comfortably,  in  any  sense  in  which  a  man  of 
business  would  use  the  term.  To  make  both  ends  meet  when  staying  at 
home  they  count  prosperity.  There  is  many  a  minister  of  the  Gospel 
denying  himself,  to  actual  hunger,  books,  clothes,  and  all  but  necessaries, 
to  keep  his  son  in  college  ;  many  a  minister's  wife  eking  out  with  pen  or 
needle  the  means  to  educate  a  daughter,  who  will  testify  to  this.  Nay, 
they  will  not ;  the  facts  testify." 

A  country  pastor,  whose  salary  had  been  cut  down  by  the 
parish  as  an  expedient  for  paying  a  church  debt,  could  not 


THE  PASTOR'S  VACATION  49 

make  use  of  his  stipulated  vacation  because  he  had  no  money 
for  traveling  expenses.  He  sought  in  vain  for  opportunities 
to  supply  vacant  pulpits  in  the  season  of  vacation,  as  they 
were  filled  by  distinguished  ministers  or  professors,  who  were 
enjoying  their  annual  rest.  It  so  chanced  that  an  old  class- 
mate, who  was  passing  his  vacation  in  a  neighboring  town, 

made  Mr.  B a  visit.    He  could  not  help  seeing  how  he  was 

cramped,  and,  by  dint  of  many  inquiries,  he  apprehended  the 

situation.      Willingly   accepting    Mr.   B 's   invitation  to 

preach,  without  a  hint  to  any  one  he  announced  as  his  text, 
'*  The  laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire."  It  was  a  plain,  outspoken 
discourse,  in  which,  after  setting  forth  the  labors  of  the  faith- 
ful minister,  and  his  love  and  devotion  to  his  people,  he  spoke 
of  their  duties  toward  him.  Telling  them  of  the  generosity 
of  his  own  parish,  he  alluded  to  cases  where  it  was  different, 
and  then  gave  them  Mr.  B 's  story,  as  an  instance  show- 
ing how  thoughtlessly  his  people  had  transferred  their  burdens 
from  their  own  shoulders  to  his.  Although  he  gave  no  names, 
they  could  not  help  putting  on  the  cap  that  fitted  them  so  well. 
A  great  commotion  was  produced,  and  some  were  quite  angry ; 
but  they  had  too  much  good  sense  to  retain  such  feelings.  A 
sum  was  at  once  raised  and  presented  to  their  pastor,  with  the 
request  that  he  should  appropriate  it  for  his  vacation.  And 
not  long  after  his  original  salary  was  restored.     It  should  be 

added  that  his  considerate  friend  suggested  Mr.  B ^s  name 

to  his  own  parish  for  the  remaining  Sabbaths  of  his  absence, 
and  that  his  preaching  was  acceptable  to  the  people  as  well 
as  a  benefit  to  himself. 

WiU  not  other  ministers  of  wealthy  parishes  suggest  the 
names  of  some  country  pastors  as  a  suitable  supply  for  at 
least  a  part  of  their  vacations  1  And  will  not  parish  commit- 
tees sometimes  look  out  a  little  on  such  occasions  for  these 
worthy  laborers  in  the  corners  and  by-places  of  the  great 
vineyard  ?  I  think  they  would,  if  they  realized  the  good  they 
would  thus  do. 

''  But  the  people  are  accustomed  to  such  eloquence  that  they 
would  not  tolerate  ordinary  supplies."  Let  us  hope  that  this 
is  an  unjust  impression.  For,  if  parishes  would  only  look  at 
all  sides  of  the  subject,  I  believe  they  would  cheerfully  sub- 
mit to  the  small  sacrifice  it  would  cost  them.  And  the  travel- 
4 


50  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

ing  ministers  and  professors  who  are  so  much  in  demand 
might  sometimes  work  to  the  same  end. 

1  have  known  cases  of  this,  where  a  clergyman  or  professor 
in  the  receipt  of  a  good  salary  has  refrained  from  seeking 
vacant  pulpits  in  his  vacation,  solely  on  account  of  those  in 
greater  need.  Instead  of  this,  he  would  preach  for  some  of 
these  hard-working  country  pastors,  thus  giving  them  needed 
help.     This  is  bearing  another's  burdens. 

"  We  believe,"  one  remarks,  "  that  there  are  few  ministers 
who  could  not  find  a  complete  change  of  air,  scene,  and 
thought  on  a  very  moderate  sum,  and  who  would  not  repay 
the  outlay  to  their  people  a  hundred-fold.  At  all  events,  if 
the  minister  is  a  good  man  it  would  be  safe  to  trust  him  with 
that  ^  moderate  sum '  and  let  him  make  the  experiment." 


VIII 
FINALLY,   BRETHREN 


YOUR  minister  is  called,  installed,  welcomed  to  your  sanct- 
uary and  your  homes,  settled  in  his  parsonage,  and  ready 
to  go  about  the  work  to  which  you  have  summoned  him.  It  is 
quite  worth  while  for  you  to  pause  for  a  moment  on  the  thresh- 
old of  this  pastorate,  and  think  it  all  over  and  make  up  your 
mind  what  you  are  going  to  do  about  it.  It  is  quite  safe  to 
say  that  the  pleasantness,  the  f  ruitf  ulness,  and  the  permanency 
of  this  relation  depends  on  you  quite  as  much  as  on  him. 

The  thoughtful  observer  finds  much  that  is  curious  in  the 
rise,  decline,  and  fall  of  the  pastorates  in  many  of  our  Protest- 
ant churches.  If  Agur  the  son  of  Jakeh  had  lived  in  our 
day,  he  would  have  added,  I  am  sure,  to  the  four  things  too 
wonderful  for  him,  this  fifth  one ;  namely,  the  way  of  a  church 
with  a  minister.  It  is  one  of  the  things  that  no  philosopher 
ever  can  find  out  —  what  produces  the  violent  likings  and  the 
violent  dislikes,  and  the  violent  changes  from  liking  to  dis- 
gust with  which  some  churches  are  affected  in  their  relation 
to  their  ministers.  One  sees  but  little  reason  oftentimes  for 
the  antipathy  with  which  the  relation  ended,  or  even  for  the 
idolatry  with  which  it  began,  and  wonders  which  was  the 
greater  illusion. 

The  critical  period  of  any  pastorate  is  apt  to  set  in  about 
the  close  of  the  second  year.  At  first,  all  goes  on  swim- 
mingly ;  the  new  voice  in  the  pulpit,  the  new  ways  of  put- 
ting things,  the  new  mental  habit  and  equipment,  the  new 
methods  of  work,  awaken  the  attention  and  engage  the 
interest  of  the  people ;  in  some  respects  the  new  pastor  is  an 
improvement  on  his  predecessor,  and  the  people  are  inclined 
to  make  the  most  of  these  superiorities  ;  he  is  found  to  be  so 
good  that  they  idealize  him,  attributing  to  him  powers  and 
perfections  that  he  does  not  possess.  By  and  by  the  glamour 
vanishes,  and  the  man  begins  to  appear  in  his  true  character. 
He  has  his  defects  as  well  as  his  superiorities ;  his  aridities 
as  well  as  his  freshnesses ;  his  foibles  as  well  as  his  virtues. 


52  THE     PASTOR'S  CALL 

He  is  not  perfect  5  he  does  not  possess  some  of  the  good  qnali- 
ties  he  was  imagined  to  possess  ;  it  begins  to  be  suspected  by 
some  that  theii-  doll  is  stuffed  with  sawdust.  By  a  natural 
reaction  the  overestimate  is  followed  by  an  underestimate: 
and  this,  as  I  said,  is  quite  likely  to  break  out  about  the  end  of 
the  second  year,  though  the  period  of  incubation  is  sometimes 
longer  and  sometimes  shorter.  Like  that  philosophical  old 
lady  who  had  observed  that  when  she  lived  through  March 
she  always  lived  all  the  rest  of  the  year,  I  have  noticed  that 
if  a  pastor  gets  through  his  second  year  and  well  on  into  his 
third  year  without  any  serious  alienations  or  disturbances  in 
his  parish,  he  is  likely  to  have  smooth  sailing  for  some  time  to 
come.  The  roots  of  bitterness,  that  cause  the  final  disruption 
of  the  pastorate,  are  likely  to  spring  up  in  the  period  of  disil- 
lusion that  succeeds  first  love. 

Let  me,  therefore,  hang  up  this  cautionary  signal.  Do  not 
overestimate  your  pastor  at  the  beginning,  and  then  you  will 
not  be  so  likely  to  underestimate  him  a  little  farther  on.  He 
is  probably  a  little  less  perfect  than  some  of  you  think  him 
now ;  he  is  probably  a  little  nearer  perfect  than  some  of  you 
will  think  him  by  and  by.  Scale  down  your  enchantment,  and 
discount  your  disappointment.  '•^  Ephraim,"  said  the  prophet, 
'^  is  a  cake  not  turned  " —  raw  on  the  one  side,  scorched  on  the 
other.  Let  your  affection  for  your  pastor  shun  these  perilous 
extremes. 

Having  offered  this  one  word  of  caution,  let  me  condense  into 
two  or  three  short  maxims  the  rest  of  what  I  have  to  say.  And^ 

First.  Give  your  minister  room.  Give  him  room  for  his 
thinking.  If  he  is,  as  we  trust,  a  scribe  who  has  been  made 
a  disciple  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  he  will  bring  forth  put 
of  his  treasure  things  new  and  old.  Old  faiths  will  appear  to 
him  in  a  new  light,  and  he  will  show  them  to  you  in  his  teach- 
ing in  forms  unfamiliar.  Look  through  the  forms  to  the  real- 
ities that  they  contain.  Do  not  make  him  an  offender  for  a 
phrase.  Some  liberty  of  statement  every  teacher  needs  ,•  do 
not  grudge  it  to  your  minister.  His  teaching  will  be  all  the 
more  catholic  and  careful  —  doubt  it  not  —  if  he  knows  that 
his  people  trust  his  judgment  as  a  teacher. 

Second.  Give  him  room  to  work.  Do  not  make  void  his 
generalship  by  your  traditions.     He  has  plans  of  his  own ;  he 


FINALLY,  BRETHREN  53 

is  leader  and  organizer  now  5  let  him  develop  his  methods  in 
his  own  way. 

Third.  Do  not  try  to  pen  him  within  your  own  parish.  He 
belongs  to  the  community ;  many  interests  that  do  not  center 
in  your  meeting-house  ought  to  engage  his  thought ;  it  is  not 
your  work  but  the  Lord's  work,  to  which  you  have  called  him ; 
and  whatever  he  can  do  for  the  furtherance  of  truth  and  right- 
eousness in  the  world  should  increase  your  joy. 

Fourth.  Do  not  give  your  pastor  too  much  room  to  work  in. 
Sometimes  the  people  are  willing  to  let  the  pastor  have  the 
whole  field  to  himself.  They  have  hired  him  not  to  direct 
but  to  do  the  work  of  the  parish.  He  seems  to  be  willing  to 
work,  and  they  are  willing  that  he  should.  They  are  careful 
not  to  get  in  his  way.  They  leave  to  him  not  only  the  teach- 
ing of  the  pulpit,  but  the  entire  care  and  labor  of  the  parish. 
They  expect  him  to  know  everybody,  to  conciliate  everybody, 
to  serve  everybody,  to  set  everybody  to  work,  whether  they 
will  work  or  no  ;  to  promote  parish  fellowship  among  people 
who  do  not  speak  to  their  brethren  and  sisters  when  they  meet 
them  on  the  street ;  to  lead  missionary  enterprises,  when  there 
are  none  who  will  follow  his  lead  5  to  develop  benevolence 
among  men  and  women  whose  stinginess  is  chronic  and  incor- 
rigible. Remember  that  the  power  of  a  church  is  in  the 
working  membership ;  and  that  your  minister's  happiness 
and  usefulness  will  depend  on  the  degree  of  cooperation  that 
he  secures  from  you. 

Fifth.  Let  him  that  is  taught  in  the  word  communicate 
unto  him  that  teacheth  in  all  good  things.  Talk  with  your 
minister  freely  about  the  problems  of  your  own  spiritual  life 
that  you  are  trying  to  work  out.  Do  not  go  to  him  with  mere 
speculative  puzzles,  but  if  there  be  any  questions  of  your  own 
higher  experience  on  which  you  need  light  or  have  found  light, 
confer  with  him  about  them.  The  best  sermons  that  any 
minister  preaches  are  those  whose  themes  are  found  in  the 
experience  of  his  people.  Do  not  tell  him  that  his  sermons 
are  profound,  or  masterly,  or  eloquent,  or  beautiful,  even 
though  they  may  be  so  —  if  he  likes  such  praise  he  would 
better  do  without  it ;  but  if  his  teachings  have  helped  you,  by 
making  truth  or  duty  plainer,  or  by  giving  you  comfort  or 
strength  or  peace,  let  him  know  that. 


54  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

If  there  be  any  thoughts  of  kindness  in  your  heart  toward 
your  pastor,  or  any  purpose  of  helping  him,  do  not  delay  too 
long  shaping  them  in  word  and  deed.  How  many  pastorates 
there  are  whose  graves  are  covered  with  the  costliest  and 
sweetest  flowers !  How  often  the  minister  staggers  on  year 
after  year  under  a  burden  too  heavy  for  him,  spending  his 
strength  for  his  people,  wishing  that  they  would  lighten  his 
load  a  little,  yet  feeling  that  when  he  makes  the  heaviest 
sacrifices  they  regard  him  as  an  unprofitable  servant,  who  is 
only  doing  what  it  is  his  duty  to  do,  till  at  length  the  burden 
becomes  unsupportable,  and  he  lays  it  down.  Then  the  appre- 
ciation that  he  has  needed  all  along  begins  to  find  expres- 
sion —  then,  when  it  is  too  late.  I  have  sometimes  thought  at 
funerals  that  if  half  of  the  kind  things  that  are  said  of  the 
departed  while  the  crape  flutters  on  the  bell-knob  had  been 
said  to  him  while  he  was  yet  in  the  flesh  he  might  have  lived 
many  years  longer.  And,  in  like  manner,  if  the  grateful 
words,  tearful  tributes,  and  generous  proffers  with  which  the 
resignation  of  the  pastoral  office  is  often  greeted  had  been 
distributed  over  the  previous  years,  the  resignation  would 
not  have  been  written. 

Brethren,  the  relation  into  which  you  have  now  entered 
with  the  pastor  of  your  choice  is  among  the  most  dear  and 
sacred  of  earthly  relations.  This  servant  of  God  will  be  the 
counselor  and  guide  and  friend  of  many;  the  sorrows,  the 
anxieties,  the  perils  of  many  will  lie  always  heavily  upon  his 
heart ;  there  will  be  no  day  that  does  not  make  heavy  drafts 
upon  his  sympathies  5  the  welfare  of  his  congregation  will  be 
in  his  thought,  waking  or  sleeping,  journeying  or  abiding  at 
home.  It  is  not  a  small  thing  to  have  the  care  of  five  hundred 
or  a  thousand  souls.  Lighten  his  burden  all  you  can ;  take 
the  obstacles  —  as  many  of  them  as  you  can  —  out  of  his  way ; 
stand  by  him  loyally  in  word  and  deed  ;  follow  him,  even  as 
he  follows  Christ;  pray  for  him  not  merely  with  well-worn 
phrases  in  public  places,  but  heartily  in  secret;  and  perad- 
venture,  as  the  days  go  on,  the  friendship  now  consecrated 
shall  grow  stronger  and  purer  and  fuller  of  blessing  to  you 
and  to  him  —  an  undying  flame  that  shall  shine  through  the 
dark  of  time  and  add  its  own  bright,  unfading  ray  to  the 
glories  of  eternity. 


IX 
GETTING    RID    OF    THE    PASTOR 

IT  would  be  difficult  to  determine  where  the  responsibility 
of  the  present  transient  pastorates  belongs.  There  are  un- 
easy people  with  whom  the  old  proverb,  ''A  new  broom  sweeps 
clean,"  is  a  cardinal  doctrine.  Fully  satisfied  during  the  first 
few  weeks  and  months  of  a  fresh  pastorate,  they  soon  become 
equally  dissatisfied. 

John  Ploughman  once  said :  "  I  never  knew  a  good  horse 
which  had  not  some  odd  habit  or  other ;  and  I  never  yet  saw  a 
minister  worth  his  salt  who  had  not  some  crotchet  or  oddity. 
Now,  these  are  the  bits  of  cheese  that  cavilers  smell  out  and 
nibble  at:  this  man  is  too  slow,  and  another  too  fast;  the 
first  is  too  flowery,  and  the  second  too  duU.  Dear  me !  if  all 
God's  creatures  were  judged  in  this  way,  we  should  wring  the 
dove's  neck  for  being  too  tame,  shoot  the  robins  for  eating 
spiders,  kiU  the  cows  for  swinging  their  tails,  and  the  hens  for 
not  giving  us  milk.  When  a  man  wants  to  beat  a  dog,  he  can 
soon  find  a  stick )  and  at  this  rate  any  fool  may  have  some- 
thing to  say  against  the  best  minister  in  England." 

And  there  are  uneasy  ministers  who,  in  a  new  field,  work 
admirably  for  a  time,  but  are  hardly  acquainted  with  their 
parish  before  they  begin  to  desire  a  change. 

Now,  if  both  parties  would  remember,  what  they  thoroughly 
know,  that  while  in  this  mortal  life  they  will  certainly  have 
a  caU  to  bear  and  forbear,  that  though  they  change  the  place 
they  will  still  keep  the  pain,  they  would  often  agree  to  over- 
look little  frictions  and  unpleasantness,  and  in  a  general  har- 
mony of  spirit  work  on  together.  Suppose  the  conjugal 
compact  could  be  lightly  set  aside,  what  a  perpetual  rush 
would  there  be  of  uneasy  husbands  and  wives  seeking  to 
make  new  experiments ! 

In  the  primitive  mode  of  settlement  for  life,  the  very  per- 
manence of  the  relation  led  the  parties  to  accommodate  them- 
selves to  it.    But  the  grace  of  forbearance  seems  to  have  gone 

55 


56  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

out  of  date.  Nowadays  many  a  parish  soon  grows  weary  of 
its  pastor  and  is  not  long  in  making  this  known.  Sometimes 
the  people  starve  him  away,  cutting  down  his  salary,  or  with- 
holding it  more  and  more  till  he  is  driven  to  leave  for  the  lack 
of  bread.  Sometimes  the  whispering  spirit  creeps  through 
the  parish.  In  a  private,  entirely  confidential  way,  this  is 
commented  upon,  that  is  taken  exception  to,  and  the  other 
is  strongly  found  fault  with,  though  secretly,  of  course.  Thus 
a  feeling  of  dissatisfaction,  slight  in  the  beginning,  is  whis- 
pered into  general  circulation.  A  little  breeze,  originated  by 
three  or  four,  possibly  by  one,  is  fanned  into  a  great  parish 
wind  which  sweeps  the  parson  clean  away.  Sometimes  one 
or  two  leading  men  leave  the  society  because  the  minister's 
views  are  too  radical,  and  one  or  two  more  because  they  are 
not  radical  enough ;  and  losing  this  support,  the  society  con- 
cludes that  the  minister  himself  had  better  leave. 

Says  a  venerable  pastor:  '^  After  the  outbreak  of  the  late 
rebellion,  I  was  deserted  by  two  of  my  wealthy  parishioners, 
one  on  the  pretense  that  I  did  not  discourse  on  politics,  the 
other  on  the  pretense  that  I  did  discourse  on  politics."  Yet 
this  pastor,  says  the  narrator,  had  uttered  so  many  rapturous 
words  on  the  joy  of  living  elevated  above  the  world,  that  he 
was  not  imagined  to  be  grieved  by  this  desertion  of  his  life- 
long friends. 

Now,  whether  it  is  more  merciful  to  starve  or  to  worry  a 
man  out  of  his  parish,  it  might  be  difficult  even  for  himself  to 
decide.  As  this  is  a  question  upon  which  even  a  "Daniel 
come  to  judgment '^  might  find  it  hard  to  give  an  answer,  I 
am  inclined  to  give  in  full  a  discussion  which  appeared  some 
time  ago  in  the  New-York  "  Evangelist,"  leaving  every  man 
to  settle  for  himself  which  of  the  courses  he  should  prefer 
to  take. 

'  ^  Why  is  it  that  getting  rid  of  a  minister  of  ttimes  works  such  mischief 
in  a  church,  and  usually  wounds  a  minister's  feelings  so  deeply  ?  Because 
almost  invariably  the  congregation,  from  real  delicacy  of  feeling, —  from  a 
natural  dislike  to  say  disagreeable  things  to  a  person's  face, —  do  the  very 
things  that  should  not  be  done.  Here  is  a  minister  who  may  be  good 
enough  —  and  woe  to  that  unfortunate  preacher  of  whom  his  people  say? 
'  He  is  a  good  man  —  but.'  However,  in  this  case  he  is  a  good  man.  Yet 
from  some  of  the  thousand-and-one  causes  that  may  render  a  minister 


GETTING    RID    OF    THE    PASTOR  57 

objectionable,  his  people  have  become  dissatisfied,  and  desire  his  removal 
Now  what  is  usually  done  ?  The  people,  very  naturally  dreading  to  tell 
these  things  to  the  man's  face,  try  to  crowd  him  out  by  making  his  posi- 
tion so  uncomfortable  that  he  will  not  want  to  stay.  The  minister  soon 
learns  that  something  is  wrong.  What  it  is  he  does  not  know,  and  cannot 
discover  —  the  very  uncertainty  and  mystery  adding  to  his  distress.  He 
hears  of  wars  and  rumors  of  wars.  He  learns  that  certain  persons  whom 
he  thought  his  best  friends,  and  who  are  so  in  his  presence,  have  '  said 
something.'  He  is  made  more  and  more  uncomfortable,  till  at  last  he 
leaves  —  wounded,  hurt,  feeling  that  his  people  have  been  cruel  and  false- 
hearted, while  the  probability  is  that  they  have  been  neither,  but  merely 
lacked  the  moral  courage  and  common  sense  to  tenderly  explain  the 
situation  to  the  minister  himself. 

''Let  us  see  just  what  rights  a  congregation  have  in  this  matter,  and 
what  they  should  do. 

''A  church  is  in  need  of  a  minister,  and  the  people,  in  finding  one,  have 
a  right  to  their  peculiarities  of  mind  and  taste  —  to  their  likes  and  dis- 
likes. They  built  the  church,  they  intend  to  support  the  minister,  and 
they  have  a  perfect  right  to  be  suited.  They  hear  candidates,  try  faith- 
fully, and  finally  call  and  settle  the  man  they  think  will  acceptably  fill 
the  place.  In  a  year  they  find  they  were  mistaken.  Their  minister  may 
be  a  good  man,  he  may  be  admirably  fitted  for  some  other  church  and 
people,  but  in  this  particular  church  he  is  a  failure.  His  people  are  as 
much  disappointed  as  he  is.  They  wanted  him  to  be  a  success,  but  he  is 
not,  and  they  are  dissatisfied.  They  don't  like  his  manner,  or  his  mode 
of  preaching.  Perhaps  they  think  he  has  not  the  talent  they  would  like 
and  are  willing  to  pay  for.  ( I  assume  that  this  church  is  one  of  those 
rare  exceptions  that  does  not  expect  first-class  talent  at  second-class 
prices.)  At  all  events  the  people  do  not  like  him,  and  would  be  pleased 
to  hear  that  he  had  been  called  to  another  church.  The  congregation 
have  a  perfect  right  to  want  this ;  but  now  what  course  should  they  pur- 
sue ?  Should  they  through  long  months  merely  try  to  make  their  minister 
unhappy,  hoping  he  will  finally  grow  so  wretched  as  to  take  his  departure  ? 
Should  the  people  say  things  behind  his  back,  which  they  trust  will  in 
some  way  reach  his  ears,  increasing  his  pain,  and  his  desire  of  finding 
another  church?  No.  These  things,  though  usually  done,  are  exactly 
what  should  not  be  done.     What,  then,  are  the  steps  to  take  ? 

"Is  it  settled  that  the  minister  must  leave?  Yes,  decidedly.  Well, 
then,  there  must  be  in  the  congregation  some  really  pious  man,  with  com- 
mon sense,  who  has  the  welfare  of  both  church  and  minister  at  heart. 
Let  that  man  acquaint  himself  with  the  true  condition  of  affairs — let 
him  be  able  to  represent  the  mind  of  the  people ;  and  then,  with  all  ten- 
derness, but  with  perfect  plainness  of  speech,  let  him  tell  the  minister 
the  whole  story. 

"Under  the  circumstances,  a  minister  would  be  thankful  that  so  straight- 
forward a  course  had  been  pursued.  To  be  sure,  it  would  occasion  some 
pain,  but  by  no  means  would  it  equal  the  pain  caused  by  the  usual  '  crowd- 


58  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

ing-out'  process.  Such  a  mode  of  dealing  with  the  matter  would  call  for 
some  nerve  ;  but  is  it  not  the  better  way  ?  And  is  not  the  desired  end  — 
the  removal  of  the  minister  —  accomplished  with  at  least  mutual  respect, 
and  with  comparatively  little  or  no  hard  feeling?  ' But/  says  some  one, 
'  we  should  hate  to  do  this.  Why,  we  could  n't  tell  the  minister  right  to 
his  face  that  we  wanted  him  to  leave,  or  that  we  did  n't  think  him  smart 
enough.  It  would  hurt  his  feelings  too  much ;  better  let  him  find  it  out 
gradually.' 

"  A  Parable.  — Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  very  kind-hearted  little 
boy,  who  owned  a  dog.  He  was  deeply  attached  to  the  animal,  and  yet, 
notwithstanding  his  love,  our  little  friend  became  convinced  —  such  are  the 
strange  contradictions  in  human  nature  —  that  the  dog's  tail  needed  shorten- 
ing. To  be  sure,  the  operation  would  occasion  a  deal  of  pain ;  but  the  tail 
was  unsatisfactory  (to  the  boy),  and  that  was  sufficient ;  it  must  come  off. 
But  here  the  tender-heartedness  of  the  child  rose  beautifully  to  view.  He 
felt  that  to  cut  it  all  off  at  once  would  occasion  too  much  pain ;  and  so, 
because  he  shrank  from  unnecessarily  hurting  the  feelings  of  the  dog,  he 
concluded  to  cut  it  off  an  inch  a  day  till  the  desired  length  was  '  gradu- 
ally' attained.  Now  I  fearlessly  affirm  that  if  that  dog's  tail  had  to  come 
off,  it  would  have  been  far  less  exasperating  to  have  it  off'  at  once,  and  not 
at  the  rate  of  an  inch  a  day.     Verhum  sap.  ! " 

To  this  spicy  communication  the  following  response  was 
made : 

^' Mr.  Editor:  The  article  of  your  correspondent  in  "The  Evangelist"  of 
last  week  says  some  true  things,  but  omits  one  most  important  item. 
He  speaks  as  though  congregations  as  a  whole  become  dissatisfied,  and 
unitedly,  and  as  one  man,  go  to  work  to  get  rid  of  ministers.  Now 
the  fact,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  is  that  somefeiv  (and  very  often  those  few 
persons  of  no  great  influence)  begin  the  dissatisfaction,  and  then  take 
pains  to  represent,  or  rather  misrepresent,  others  as  dissatisfied,  when  the 
very  reverse  is  true.  And  then  on  these  false  representations  one  and 
another  of  more  influence  are  ready  to  say  :  'Well,  I  did  not  know  of  any 
dissatisfaction,  and  for  my  part  I  am  perfectly  satisfied ;  but  then  if 
others,  as  you  say,  feel  so,  why,  perhaps,  we  had  better  have  a  change.' 
And  so,  instead  of  boldly  and  faithfully  acting  out  their  own  views,  and 
sustaining  a  minister  who  is  laborious  and  faithful,  they  either  fall  in  with 
the  rising  current,  or  stand  aside  and  do  nothing,  and  suffer  an  excellent 
minister  to  leave  his  people  ;  when  if  they  would  but  use  their  influence 
and  sustain  a  faithful  servant  of  the  Master,  the  discontent  would  soon  be 
at  an  end,  and  those  who  had  started  and  endeavored  to  fan  it  would  sink 
to  their  proper  insignificance. 

'*I  have  knovra  many  eases  of  separation  between  ministers  and  people, 
and  the  history  of  almost  all  is  given  above.  There  are  very  few  congre- 
gations in  the  land  where  dissatisfaction  cannot  \)e  created  by  going  round 
and  asking :  '  Don't  you  think  we  had  better  have  a  change  ? '  <  Don't  you 


GETTING    RID    OF    THE    PASTOR  59 

think  our  minister's  usefulness  is  declining  ? '  '  Don't  you  think  some  new 
voice  and  manner  would  better  fill  up  our  pews  ? '  When  if  the  same 
ofiacious  inquirer  had  gone  round  proposing  to  raise  a  sum  of  money  and 
make  a  present  to  the  minister,  or  kindly  offer  him  a  vacation  to  recruit 
his  wearied  brain  and  body  and  heart,  the  result  would  have  been  the 
very  reverse,  calling  out  the  love  of  the  people  to  the  faithful  ambassador 
of  Christ,  and  preparing  them  to  hear  with  fresh  interest  the  Word  of  God 
from  his  lips. 

"  The  truth  is,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  that  dissatisfaction  with  ministers 
arises  from  the  fact  that  the  church  is  growing  cold  and  inactive  and 
neglectful  of  duty  ;  and  instead  of  looking  into  their  own  hearts  and  re- 
penting of  sin,  and  waking  to  new  activity  in  the  cause  of  religion,  and 
so  encouraging  the  heart  of  the  minister,  they  lay  the  blame  of  the  decline 
on  him,  and  look  to  a  change  as  the  remedy." 

Another  letter,  signed  ''  John  Knox,  Jr./'  treats  the  topic 
from  another  point  of  view  : 

"  I  have  read  the  letter  of  your  correspondent  with  much  interest.  Of 
course  those  churches  that  are  crushing  out  the  lives  of  ministers,  in  the 
foolish  and  wrong  methods  of  lingering  torture  which  they  so  unwisely 
adopt  when  they  desire  to  get  rid  of  them,  will  now  know  how  to  act, 
seeing  that  we  all  comprehend  what  should  be  the  direct,  prompt,  and 
effective  method.  It  is  a  pity  that  he  had  not  written  his  prescription 
many  years  ago,  for  it  might  have  aided  a  party  in  a  church  with  which  I 
have  some  acquaintance,  who  earnestly  desired  to  get  rid  of  their  minis- 
ter ;  and  they  did  exactly  as  your  correspondent  lias prescrihed.  They  called 
a  minister  of  whom  they  'had  heard  favorably,'  and  of  whom  '  on  trial '  they 
had  good  '  hopes.'  Ere  long,  however,  there  were  certain  in  the  church, 
and  they  were  leaders  too,  that  had  been  accustomed  to  rule  with  a  high 
hand,  who  began  to  suspect  that  they  had  made  a  '  mistake.'  They  hinted 
their  doubts  to  others,  and  ere  long  a  number  were  started  to  talk,  and 
watch,  and  as  the  band  increased,  courage  and  a  sense  of  duty  increased 
also,  and  after  a  solemn  conclave,  a  leader  undertook  to  approach  the 
pastor,  and  let  him  know  what  these  faithful  guardians  felt,  and  what  was 
expected  of  him. 

"  He  did  so.  '■  So  you  think  I  don't  answer  the  church.'  '  Yes !  We  are 
fully  satisfied,  and  after  trial,  we  see  that  we  can  no  longer  work  with 
you.'  '  Oh,  that  is  your  judgment.  How  many  think  with  you  in  your  esti- 
mate ? '  '  Oh,  a  large  number,  and  I  have  come  to  say  that  I  and  all  these 
people  desire  a  change.'  '  Well,'  said  the  pastor, '  that  is  plain,  and  I  shall 
be  equally  plain.  Now  do  you  get  about  your  business  ;  leave  the  church  or 
I  '11  turn  you  out  of  it,  and  I  '11  turn  out  or  discipline  every  man  and  woman 
in  the  chui'ch  that  dares  to  interfere  with  me  in  my  ministry.  Go  at  once, 
or  you  will  repent  it.'  The  minister  forthwith  cleared  out  some  forty  of 
these  disturbers,  who,  had  they  been  permitted  to  have  their  own  way. 


60  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

by  a  timorous,  nervous  man,  would  have  kept  that  pastor,  and  probably 
his  successor,  in  torment  for  many  years.  He  made  them  feel  that  they 
had  a  man  to  deal  with.  For  twenty  years  he  has  sustained  that  church, 
and  brought  it  up  to  a  condition  of  intelligence,  numbers,  liberality,  and 
piety  that  places  it  in  the  front  rank  of  the  churches  of  his  presbytery. 
There  are  some  men  of  delicate  temperaments  who  are  ever  ready  to  act 
on  hints,  and  there  are  others  just  as  able  to  give  hints  to  the  emissaries  of 
disturbers  when  they  come  to  dictate  to  men  who  are  able  to  teach  them." 

This  correspondence  will  be  found  profitable  for  doctrine 
and  reproof  by  many  church  members,  perhaps  by  some  pas- 
tors. It  is  related  of  Dr.  Neale,  forty  years  pastor  of  the 
First  Baptist  Church  in  Boston,  that  soon  after  his  settle- 
ment he  told  his  people  that  ''  for  no  slight  cause  of  discon- 
tent would  he  be  driven  from  them.  If  there  were  a  third  in 
the  church  and  society  who  loved  him,  and  another  third  were 
willing  to  put  up  with  him,  the  remaining  third  sliould  bear 
with  him '' ;  or,  according  to  another  version,  ^'  It  will  be  very 
difficult  for  you  to  unsettle  me,  for  if  one-third  wish  me  to 
stay,  and  another  third  would  n't  vote  against  me,  the  remain- 
ing third  may  whistle."  For  more  than  thirty-six  years  the 
good  doctor  held  the  three-thirds  with  a  firm  and  loving  hand. 
He  is  also  said  to  have  stated  that  one  reason  for  his  loner 
pastorate  was  that  when  he  got  on  his  high  horse  and  wanted 
to  go,  they  would  n't  let  him ;  and  when  they  took  their  turn 
of  mounting,  he  would  n't  go.  Thus  he  owed  his  protracted 
continuance  among  them  to  the  fact  that  '^  they  did  n't  both 
get  mad  at  the  same  time." 

On  this  subject,  which  tries  the  souls  of  so  many  clergymen, 
a  well-known  minister  writes  ; 

"Wherever  you  go  in  New  England  you  find  that  in  almost  every 
church  a  minority  exists,  and  that  owing  to  the  conduct  of  this  minority 
the  church  is  kept  in  a  constant  turmoil  and  unprofitable  agitation.  And 
the  time  has  come  —  so  widespread  and  notorious  is  this  state  of  things  — 
to  look  into  the  matter  closely  and  fearlessly,  and  to  ascertain,  if  pos- 
sible, the  cause  and  remedy  of  what  is  fast  becoming  unendurable  to  the 
pastors  and  a  scandal  upon  religion  itself, 

''  The  first  thing  to  be  noted  about  minorities  is  that  they  are  most  fre- 
quently formed  and  marshaled  in  the  name  of  religion.  Any  amount  of 
wire-pulling  and  caucusing  is  being  done  in  our  churches,  detrimental  to 
their  peace  and  growth,  by  a  class  of  men  who  mask  their  selfish  and  ill- 


GETTING    RID    OF    THE    PASTOR  61 

natured  design  behind  the  veil  of  an  excessive  piety.  The  attack  is  often 
against  the  pastor  and  in  the  name  of  'sound  doctrine.'  It  is  astonishing 
how  wise  theologically  some  laymen  are,  especially  if  they  hold  some 
small  office  in  the  church.  They  act  as  if  they  were  elected  to  be  censors 
of  the  pulpit,  and  supply  it  from  week  to  week  with  the  needed  measure 
of  knowledge,  in  order  that  the  people  need  not  be  led  astray.  You  can 
find  men  in  every  church  who  never  studied  either  of  the  two  languages 
in  which  the  Scriptures  were  written,  who  know  next  to  nothing  about 
ancient  geography  and  oriental  history,  whose  profoundest  reading  has 
been  Barnes's  Commentaries,  who  feel  competent  to  sit  in  judgment  week 
by  week  upon  the  utterances  of  men  who  devoted  eight  or  ten  years  of 
their  lives  to  prepare  themselves  to  preach  their  first  sermon,  and  who 
have  very  likely  since  spent  twice  that  number  of  years  in  close  uninter- 
mittent  study  of  the  Scriptures. 

''Another  cause  of  the  minority  party  in  our  churches  is  love  of  power 
or  the  spirit  of  domination.  In  almost  every  church  are  men  who  love  to 
rule.  They  crave  prominence  in  spiritual  things.  They  are  determined 
to  have  their  own  way.  They  desire  to  be  elected  to  the  office  of  deacon, 
or  to  be  put  on  some  committee,  or  be  sent  as  delegate  somewhere.  If  they 
do  not  succeed  in  these  ignoble  ambitions,  they  are  soured  and  become 
crabbed  and  ugly.  They  begin  to  button-hole  the  weak  brethren  and 
canvass  the  church  for  opposition  votes.  They  misquote  and  misapply 
the  pastor's  words.  They  start  a  dozen  rumors ;  they  become  the  center 
and  origin  of  discontent.  They  have  secret  conferences  and  organize  a 
party.  They  drive  the  Spirit  from  the  church ;  and  out  of  the  spiritual 
barrenness  that  they  themselves  have  wickedly  caused  derive  their 
strongest  arguments  '  for  a  change.'  The  pastor  endures  it  as  long  as  he 
can,  until,  fretted  and  weary  with  the  unhallowed  strife,  he  resigns  his 
charge  and  retires,  grieved  and  wounded  in  heart,  from  the  field. 

"Now,  every  reader  knows  that  this  sort  of  thing  prevails  to  a  greater 
or  less  extent  all  over  New  England  and  the  country.  It  has  done  more, 
and  is  to-day  doing  more,  than  all  other  causes  combined,  to  imperil  the 
pastoral  relation  and  make  it  of  short  continuance.  And  the  question 
comes  home  directly  to  us  all  who  wish  well  to  the  cause  of  Christ  and 
desire  a  fruitful  and  peaceful  state  of  things.  What  shall  we  do  with 
fractious  minorities  in  our  churches,  and  with  those  wicked  men  who 
deliberately  and  persistently  organize  them  ?  I  say  '  wicked  men,'  and  I 
speak  with  deliberation  and  accuracy  when  I  thus  apply  the  term. 

"  It  is  time  that  this  class  of  mischief-makers  in  our  congregations 
should  understand  that  they  are  engaged  in  a  wicked  and  unjustifiable 
business.  A  church  is  a  family,  and  it  is  an  awful  sin  for  one  to  break 
into  and  destroy  its  peace,  check  its  growth,  and  rudely  displace  its  legit- 
imate head.  For  one,  I  hold  that  the  time  has  come  to  call  white  white, 
and  black  black.  These  miserable  people  embody  the  very  spirit  of  dis- 
organization and  strife,  and  should  receive,  as  they  deserve,  the  bold 
rebuke  of  pulpit  and  pew.  The  truth  is  the  churches  have  been  derelict 
touching  this  matter.     They  have  treated  as  a  minor  fault  what  is  in  fact 


62  THE    PASTOR'S    CALL 

a  positive  and  flagrant  transgression,  not  only  of  the  law  of  brotherly  love, 
which  the  Bible  makes  the  evidence  of  true  piety,  but  of  the  very  genius 
of  Christianity,  and  a  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost. 

''  This  also  should  be  said  in  addition,  that  the  abuse  of  the  minority 
privilege  is  a  direct  and  deadly  blow  at  Congregationalism  as  a  system  of 
church  government.  If  our  form  of  government  means  anything,  it  means 
that  the  majority  of  the  suffrages  shall  decide  all  matters  relating  to  the 
administration,  both  in  respect  to  the  parish  society  and  the  church 
proper.  And  this  is  the  same  as  saying  that  a  minority  shall  yield  grace- 
fully and  amiably  to  the  decision  of  the  majority.  There  is  no  other  basis 
upon  which  Congregationalism  can  stand.  It  is  the  essential  and  imper- 
ative principle  of  the  system,  upon  the  maintenance  of  which  peace  and 
order  depend.  But  what  often  are  the  facts  of  the  ease  ?  These :  that 
only  i^rovided  the  minority,  no  matter  how  small,  is  ugly  and  persistent 
enough,  it  can  carry  the  day,  drive  out  the  pastor,  and  upset  the  whole 
administration.  The  premium  is  thus  put  upon  discontent,  mischief- 
makers  are  encouraged  to  persist  in  their  mischief-making,  and  a  feeling 
of  timidity  and  dread  allowed  to  take  possession  of  the  entire  ministry  ; 
and  many  a  Congregational  minister  has  gone  over  to  the  Presbyterian 
denomination,  in  order  to  obtain  security  in  labor  and  protection  to  his 
reputation. 

''  That  minorities  have  their  rights  we  are  well  aware,  but  that  among 
these  is  the  right  to  disturb  the  peace  of  the  church  and  torment  the 
pastor,  we  most  emphatically  deny.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  minority  when 
outvoted  to  yield  gracefully,  and  accept  the  decision  of  the  church,  as 
expressed  in  the  votes  of  the  majority,  in  cheerfulness  and  affectionate 
compliance,  and  not  persist  in  a  course  of  action  in  which  the  majority  of 
the  brethren  cannot  sympathize." 

This  witness  speaks  from  the  Congregational  stand-point,  but 
the  substance  of  what  he  says  is  applicable  to  churches  of 
other  names.  The  drift  of  his  remarks,  and,  indeed,  of  this 
chapter,  is  against  those  unreasonable,  self-willed  minorities 
which,  by  the  reckless  pressing  of  their  demands,  sorely  harass 
the  minister,  not  unfrequently  compelling  his  retreat,  while 
they  keep  the  chui-ch  in  a  perpetual  turmoil.  Indeed,  a  major- 
ity clearly  in  the  right,  from  the  fear  of  losing  certain  large 
subscriptions,  will  sometimes  basely  truckle  to  the  will  and 
the  wealth  of  one,  two,  or  three,  thus  selling  their  pastor  for 
a  little  silver. 

But  it  is  by  no  means  claimed  that  majorities  are  always  in 
the  right :  witness  that  unhappily  notorious  one  which  drove 
President  Edwards  from  Northampton.  Many  other  similar 
cases  are  on  record,  which  only  go  to  show  that  human  crook- 


GETTING    RID    OF    THE    PASTOR  63 

edness  can  twist  the  straightest  things  that  human  wisdom 
can  make. 

To  be  in  the  minority  is  not,  therefore,  necessarily  to  be  in 
the  wrong;  else  what  of  the  ^^  few ^' who  go  in  at  the  strait 
and  narrow  gate  ?  But  there  is  always  the  right  to  appeal  to 
a  Mutual  Council,  the  Presbytery,  or  some  other  body.  And 
if  this  sanctions  wrong,  there  remains  the  right  of  patient 
Christlike  endurance  til]  the  Grand  Assizes,  when  all  crooked 
things  shall  be  made  straight,  and  aU  wrongs  shall  be  finally 
and  forever  righted. 


II 

PARISH    BUSINESS 


OBJECTS,   METHODS,  AND    DIFFICULTIES 

IRST.  I  am  asked  to  state  the  principles  of 
chief  importance  to  the  successful  conduct 
of  parish  business.  Let  us  approach  the 
subject  with  a  full  recognition  of  the  fact 
that  the  object  of  all  parish  business  is  the 
promotion  of  religion  in  the  hearts  and 
lives  of  those  who  may  be  within  its  in- 
fluence, including  ourselves.  It  seems  to  me  not  too  much  to 
say  that  this  is  the  sole  and  only  object.  We  may  enlist  other 
motives  and  interests  to  advance  the  work,  but  the  moment 
any  purpose  other  than  the  promotion  of  religion  becomes  the 
object,  or  a  part  of  the  object,  weakness  and  danger  of  mis- 
chief is  introduced.  Thus,  to  serve  this  paramount  object  it 
is  perfectly  proper  to  take  advantage  of  the  desii'e  of  real 
estate-owners  to  have  a  valuable  improvement  made  by  build- 
ing a  church  5  to  take  advantage  of  the  preference  of  families 
for  a  church  convenient  to  their  homes  and  attractive  in  its 
appointments ;  of  the  social  friendships  of  the  parishioners ; 
of  the  disposition  of  people  to  follow  each  other,  and  to  be 
willing  to  work  and  to  give  together  as  they  would  not  alone ; 
but  the  usefulness  of  these  and  similar  motives  is  in  their  actu- 
ally serving  the  one  object  which  is  not  only  superior  to  but 
must  control  them  all.  When  we  find  ourselves  using  religion 
or  its  institutions  to  serve  those  incidental  objects,  instead  of 
making  them  serve  it,  we  are  making  a  mistake  which  is  per- 
haps sadly  frequent,  and  certainly  frequently  pernicious. 


ob-je«:ts.  methods,  .ixd  difficulties         65 

In  considering,  therefore,  the  principles  that  should  be 
observed  in  the  transaction  of  chm*eh  affaii-s.  let  us  beai*  in 
mind  that  their  impoitance  is  in  their  value  in  promoting 
religion :  and  that  the  obligation  to  do  sneh  business  rightlv 

is  enhanced  by  the  mischiefs  which  neglect  and  unnecessary- 
controvei*sy  bring  upon  the  sacred  cause. 

The  reasons  why  church  business  should  be  exceptionally 
well  conducted  are  as  obvious  as  the  fact  of  common  laxity-. 
A  man  in  secidar  business  may  neglect  that  which  is  less 
profitable  for  that  which  is  more  so,  and  may  take  risks,  and 
himself  bear  the  loss  of  misjudgment.  but  in  the  business  of 
the  chui-ch  such  loss  falls  on  the  cause  of  Chi-ist. 

Second.  The  most  useful  suggestion  I  can  make,  of  which 
aU  the  rest  I  have  to  say  is  but  the  application  in  detail,  is 
that  the  business  affau's  and  engagements  of  the  parish  should 
be  undertaken  and  carried  out  as  sacred  trusts,  with  all  the 
exactness,  fau-ness.  and  fidelity  that  can  be  expected  in  the  acts 
of  any  trustee.  The  chm*ch  should  enlist  the  service  of  men 
who  appreciate  the  responsibility  of  the  duty,  who  know  how 
to  transact  business  in  a  way  which  will  not  leave  the  door 
open  to  controversy,  and  who  will  not  allow  personal  interests 
or  morbidly  sensitive  feelings  to  swei*^'e  them  fi'om  the  course 
of  Christian  dut^' :  and  it  shoidd  honor  their  cautious  and 
deliberate  ways,  and  respect  the  objections  that  such  men 
instinctively  make  to  assuming  doubtful  powers  and  neglect- 
ing proper  formalities.  Doubtless  the  serious  controvei*sies 
that  arise  in  church  business  are  very  few  in  proportion  to 
the  number  of  organizations  and  the  interests  involved,  when 
we  compare  them  with  those  of  business  coi-porations,  but 
they  are  far  too  numerous,  and  they  nearly  all  get  their 
opportunity  of  becoming  serious  by  the  loose  condition  of 
rights  and  obligations  which  unbusinesslike  methods  have 
produced.  There  have  been  some  great  contests  over  the  ques- 
tions of  faith  or  discipline  that  have  rent  churches,  but  if  I 
am  not  mistaken,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  chm-ch  qnaiTcls, 
however  apparently  due  to  moral  or  spiritual  questions,  could 
not  have  gained  the  position  in  which  to  give  the  church  a 
serious  wound,  but  for  the  neglect  of  ordinaiy  business  pre- 
cautions. So  far.  certainly,  as  the  business  of  the  parish  is 
•3 


66  PARISH    BUSINESS 

concerned,  the  peace  of  the  church  depends  on  the  course 
which  is  morally  right  being  taken  in  a  legal  mariner — a 
manner  the  legality  of  which  is  sufficiently  clear  to  prevent 
objections  that  may  be  made  the  opportunity  of  dissensions. 

Third.  There  are  here  two  difficulties  which  ordinary  busi- 
ness does  not  meet.  The  peculiar  organization  of  a  church  makes 
its  business  in  some  respects  more  complex,  and  increases  the 
importance  of  regularity,  while  on  the  other  hand  it  seems  to 
church  members  ungracious  to  object  to  irregularity  in  per- 
formance of  labors  that  are  gratuitous ;  and  the  prevalence  of 
good  feeling  silences  doubts. 

What  I  have  to  say  wiU  be  directed  to  explaining  the  na- 
ture of  the  peculiarities  which  a  business  man  should  bear  in 
mind  in  undertaking  to  cooperate  in  parish  affairs.  The 
embarrassment  that  attends  the  attempt  to  exact  more  careful 
performance  of  the  business  of  a  parish  requires  unfailing 
resources  of  faithfulness  and  forbearance,  combined  with  the 
good  humor  that  ought  to  overflow  in  any  differences  of  judg- 
ment in  this  service. 


II 

ORGANIZATION,   SPIRITUAL    AND    SECULAR 

FIRST.  Suppose  a  number  of  persons  unite  to  form  a 
church,  with  no  other  organization  than  choosing  a  pas- 
tor and  a  committee  or  board  of  the  usual  officers,  and  there- 
upon money  is  contributed  to  a  common  treasury  ;  to  whom 
does  that  money  belong  ?  It  is  easy  to  say  that  it  is  dedicated 
to  the  cause  of  religion,  but  this  is  saying  where  it  ought  to 
go,  not  who  has  a  legal  right  to  take  it  if  controversy  arises. 
If  the  legal  right  is  made  clear  at  the  outset,  controversy  may 
arise,  but  will  quiet  itself.  If  it  is  not  clear,  controversy  is 
the  more  likely  to  arise  on  that  account,  and  litigation  is 
likely  to  ensue. 

It  is  plain  that  such  a  fund  does  not  belong  to  the  mem- 
bers, or  ought  not  to,  in  the  sense  in  which  the  property  of  a 
business  corporation  does,  for  the  property  of  a  church  mem- 
ber is  liable  to  his  creditors,  and  at  his  death  goes  to  his  next 
of  kin,  like  that  of  any  other  person  5  and  if  I  own  a  share  of 
the  money  in  the  treasury  of  my  church,  my  administrators 
would  be  bound  to  claim  it  on  my  death. ;  my  creditors,  if  I 
had  any,  might  attach  it.  Moreover,  if  I  wished  to  leave  the 
church  I  might  assign  my  share  to  another  person;  or,  if  there 
were  an  unappeasable  dissension  in  the  society,  I  might  claim 
a  dissolution  of  it  and  a  division  of  its  funds. 

In  the  case  of  an  unincorporated  church,  which  I  have  sup- 
posed, the  answer  to  the  question.  Who  owns  the  funds  ?  is 
obvious,  but  not  very  favorable  to  the  peace  of  the  church. 

The  fund  is  held  in  trust :  it  belongs  to  the  members  only 
in  the  sense  that  they  are  concerned  in  its  administration. 
Who,  then,  has  power  to  protect  this  fund  ?  If  the  treasurer 
misapplies  it,  must  all  the  members  join  in  suing  for  it  f  If 
the  highway  commissioners  want  to  take  a  strip  off  the  church 
lot,  must  all  the  members  be  consulted,  or  is  it  enough  to  serve 
notice  on  the  committee  or  board ;  and,  if  the  latter,  is  it  enough 
that  the  committee  consent,  or  are  the  members  entitled  to  be 

67 


68  PARISH    BUSINESS 

consulted  about  taking  their  property.  If  there  is  a  fire,  and 
it  becomes  necessary  to  sue  to  recover  the  insurance,  who  can 
doit? 

Such  questions  as  these,  which  are  constantly  arising  when 
a  church  has  property,  compel  the  adoption  of  incorporation, 
so  as  to  provide  a  hand  clothed  with  the  law,  to  hold  and 
protect  the  property. 

Second.  The  property  and  the  legal  rights  of  a  church  are,, 
however,  subordinate  facts  in  its  existence.  They  demand 
attention  only  because  they  are  to  be  so  held  as  to  serve  the 
spiritual  uses  of  the  body.  Those  spiritual  purposes  also 
require  some  formal  organization.  The  pastor  and  preacher 
has  his  advisers,  his  aids  and  assistants;  and  their  several 
duties  and  their  relations  to  the  worship  in  the  congregation, 
to  the  communicants,  to  the  children  in  the  Sunday-school, 
to  the  poor  and  sick,  form  a  religious  organization  the  func- 
tions of  which  are  sacred. 

We  instinctively  feel  that  the  duty  of  the  spiritual  part  of 
the  work  of  the  parish  is  in  its  nature  different  from  that  of 
the  secular  or  temporal  part.  This  becomes  even  more  obvi- 
ous when  we  notice  the  details  of  the  spiritual  work  which 
the  church  undertakes. 

The  primary  idea  of  a  church  in  aU  of  its  various  forms  is- 
that  of  an  organization  for  religious  purposes,  the  members,, 
the  officers,  and  the  pastor  or  other  head  of  which  are  bound 
together  by  a  spiritual  tie,  and  are  to  be  guided  in  their  rela- 
tions with  each  other  by  religious  principles.  In  the  forma- 
tion of  this  union,  in  the  continuance  of  it,  or  its  dissolution 
by  dismissal  or  excommunication,  in  the  watch  and  care 
involved  in  the  relation,  and  in  the  duties  of  service  and 
contribution,  the  persons  engaged  are  not  directed  by  the  law 
of  the  land,  but  by  their  own  covenant  and  religious  principles, 
and  by  those  rules  and  usages  which  are  known  as  ecclesiastical 
law.  And  if  a  member,  officer,  or  pastor  is  derelict  in  duty, 
this  law  of  the  church  is  looked  to  for  the  method  of  correct- 
ing the  evil.  In  all  this  the  work  of  the  church  may  go  on 
within  its  legitimate  limits  without  reference  to  the  law  of  the 
land.  The  law  of  the  land  does  not  interfere  with  the  dis- 
cipline and  teachings  of  the  church  or  the  confession  and 


ORGANIZATION,   SPIRITUAL    AND    SECULAR        69 

-worship  of  its  members ;  for  this  work  is  innocent  and  benefi- 
cent, and  the  church,  in  its  teachings,  confessions,  worship, 
and  discipline,  does  not  invoke  the  law  of  the  land,  because 
its  own  religious  rules  are  its  guide. 

Now,  we  hhve  seen  that  so  soon  as  such  an  organization 
has  any  property  or  makes  a  contract,  and  this  is  often  at  the 
very  beginning  of  its  existence,  it  avowedly  assumes  legal 
rights  and  legal  obligations.  In  respect  to  these  it  must,  of 
necessity,  order  its  conduct  according  to  the  requirements  of 
the  law  of  the  land  ;  and  it  cannot,  as  in  the  case  of  discipline 
and  worship,  be  secure  merely  by  resting  upon  its  religious 
principles.  Its  title-deeds,  its  building  contract,  its  insurance 
of  its  edifice  and  its  organ,  its  contract  with  the  sexton,  even 
the  contract  with  the  minister,  must  of  necessity  conform 
to  the  same  legal  standards  that  the  law  imposes  upon  like 
transactions  in  worldly  affairs.  It  cannot  rely  on  spiritual 
•obligations  for  securing  a  clear  title,  a  good  foundation  and  a 
tight  roof,  nor  does  the  ecclesiastical  law  provide  means  for 
-enforcing  payment  of  insurance  in  case  of  a  fire.  Such  inter- 
ests and  obligations  constitute  the  temporalities  of  the  church. 
They  exist  for  the  support  of  the  spiritualities.  They  are, 
iowever,  only  a  means  to  an  end. 

Every  church  has  thus  two  very  different  kinds  of  business 
to  attend  to.  Difference  of  opinion  exists  as  to  whether  they 
may  best  be  administered  by  the  same  persons  or  by  different 
sets  of  persons.  In  some  denominations  one  organization 
■attends  to  both ;  in  others  there  is  a  separate  organization  for 
each.  Some  persons  think  the  pastor  should  have  nothing  to 
do  with  the  finances ;  others  think  it  wrong  to  exclude  him 
from  them. 

Without  desiring  here  to  discuss  the  question,  it  is  well  to 
say  that  it  appears  to  me  that  Providence,  who  is  wiser  than 
all  our  ingenuity,  has  so  allotted  the  causes  of  opinion  and 
the  dispositions  of  men,  that  there  are,  and  for  a  long  time  to 
come  are  likely  to  be,  many  churches  of  each  kind,  some  of 
the  one  form  and  some  of  the  other,  and  some  of  a  composite 
form,  all  engaged  in  the  same  object,  but  in  different  methods, 
and  thus  enlisting  diverse  gifts  and  aptitudes.  Whether  this 
be  an  advantage  as  I  suppose,  or  not,  the  fact  exists ;  and  the 


70  PARISH    BUSINESS 

reader  who  would  understand  parish  business  clearly  should 
not  fail  to  observe  the  difference  between  the  principles  which 
govern  the  two  classes  respectively ;  and  even  if  his  church  is 
a  single  organization,  he  wiU  be  repaid  for  noticing  the  forms 
of  organization  in  which  these  two  classes  of  functions  are 
separated. 

Third.  The  tendency  of  ecclesiastical  law,  that  is  to  say,  of 
the  Rules  and  Usages  of  Denominations,  is  to  consider  the 
"Church,"  in  the  special  sense  of  that  word  (i.  e.,  the  body  of 
communicants  or  the  priesthood  with  their  lay  assistants),  com- 
petent to  hold  and  manage  the  property  as  well  as  the  ecclesi- 
astical affairs,  and  therefore  to  rely  on  a  single  organization. 
But  in  several  of  the  States  the  law  permitting  incorporation 
necessitates,  for  some  denominations  at  least,  a  double  or- 
ganization, the  communicants  or  spiritual  body,  however 
formed,  being  one,  and  the  congi'egation  or  pewholders  (some 
of  whom  may  be  and  some  of  whom  may  not  be  "  church 
members  ")  constituting  the  other  or  secular  body.  The  way 
this  came  about  was  that  the  legislature,  to  avoid  bringing 
ecclesiastical  questions  before  the  courts,  provided  in  effect 
that  the  incorporation  of  churches  of  some  denominations, 
which  had  no  great  organized  ecclesiastical  tribunals,  should 
be  without  any  reference  to  their  ecclesiastical  connection  or 
faith,  and  that  the  right  to  vote  should  not  depend  on  "  church 
membership,"  but  on  attendance  and  contribution.  The 
courts  following  this  policy  have  treated  such  corporations  as 
purely  secular  bodies,  existing,  however,  for  the  benefit  of  a 
religious  body,  or  a  religious  purpose.  Under  this  system,  as 
has  been  humorously  said,  "every  church  is  twins."  The 
church  members  or  the  affiliated  ecclesiastical  organizations 
control  on  questions  of  worship  and  discipline,  the  congrega- 
tion or  pewholders  and  their  trustees  on  questions  of  property 
and  contracts.  In  the  State  of  New-York  and  several  other 
States  substantially  this  system  prevails  as  to  independent 
churches  and  churches  congregationally  organized,  including 
with  more  or  less  qualification  the  Baptist,  Congregation alist, 
Methodist,  Presbyterian,  Unitarian,  and  Universalist  churches. 
In  several  of  these  denominations  the  difference  of  preference 
as  to  the  single  or  dual  organization  has  led  to  the  enactment 


ORGANIZATION,   SPIRITUAL    AND    SECULAR        71 

of  laws  under  which  some  of  the  local  churches  among  these 
orders  adopt  one,  and  some  the  other  form.* 

As  a  type  of  the  dual  organization  I  take,  as  best  suited^  for 
this  illustration,  the  legal  form  given  in  the  State  of  New- 
York  to  churches  of  the  Presbyterian  and  most  of  those  of 
the  Baptist  and  Congregational  order.t 

Fourth.  The  peculiarities  of  the  dual  organization  may  per- 
haps be  best  explained  by  beginning  with  the  formation  of  a 
religious  corporation  of  this  class. 

In  order  that  I  may  secure  the  clearness  of  accuracy,  I  will 
state  the  law  in  the  form  in  which  it  exists  in  New-York ;  the 
original,  which  has  been  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  copied  in 
such  other  States  as  have  adopted  the  same  system. 

The  first  clause  of  the  New-York  statute  is  as  follows  : 

^at  shall  be  lawful  for  the  persons  of  full  age,  belonging  to  any  other 
church,  congregation  or  religious  society  [that  is  to  say,  any  other  than  the 
Episcopal  and  Reformed  Dutch,  which  were  provided  for  by  the  preceding 
sections  of  the  act],  now  or  hereafter  to  be  estabUshed  in  this  State,  and 
not  already  incorporated,  to  assemble  at  the  church,  meeting-house,  or 
other  place  where  they  statedly  attend  for  divine  worship,  and,  by  plural- 
itv  of  voices,  to  elect  any  number  of  discreet  persons  of  their  church,  con- 
gregation or  society,  not  less  than  three,  nor  exceeding  nine  in  number,  as 
trustees.   ..." 

A  subsequent  clause  of  the  same  section  provides  that  the 
persons  certified  by  the  officers  of  the  meeting  to  have  been 
elected  as  trustees  shall  upon  the  recording  of  the  certificate 
"  be  a  body  corporate,  by  the  name  or  title  expressed  in  such 
certificate'' ;  and  by  the  next  section  they  are  ''  empowered  to 
take  into  their  possession  and  custody  all  the  temporalities 
belonging  to  such  church,  congregation  or  society,  whether 
the  same  consist  of  real  or  personal  estate,''  etc.,  with  power  to 

*  In  the  State  of  New-York,  where  I  write,  the  gi-owth  of  opinion  in 
favor  of  the  single  organization  has  been  such  within  the  last  few  years, 
that  laws  have  been  passed,  at  the  instance  of  Baptists  and  Congregational- 
ists  respectively,  making  it  optional  with  churches  of  those  denominations 
to  organize  in  the  single  form,  by  incorporating  the  church  members  only, 
and  to  change  to  that  form,  if  originally  organized  in  the  dual  form  by 
incorporating  the  members  of  the  congregation  only. 

t  In  this  I  speak  of  all  churches  organized  under  Section  3  of  the  Act 
(Chap.  60)  of  1813. 


72  PARISH    BUSINESS 

sue  for,  recover,  hold,  and  enjoy  the  church  property,  and  to 
purchase,  lease,  and  improve  other  property  for  the  use  of  the 
church,  congregation,  or  society,  etc.,  and,  in  short,  to  take 
charge  of  the  estate  and  property  belonging  thereto,  and  to 
transact  all  affairs  relative  to  its  temporalities. 

It  will  be  seen  at  once  that  this  statute  is  permissive, 
not  obligatory.  They  may.  If  any  church  desires  to  remain 
unincorporated  and  forego  the  temporal  advantages  of  incor- 
poration, they  can  do  so. 

Clauses  relating  to  the  mode  of  calling  and  conducting  the 
meeting,  and  certifying  and  recording  the  result,  should  be 
carefully  complied  with  by  those  proceeding  to  organize  such 
a  corporation.  Many  certificates  have  failed  to  give  a  legal 
right  to  the  trustees,  by  reason  of  careless  omission  of  some 
requisite,  or  by  record  in  the  wrong  public  office. 

It  only  needs  to  be  suggested  here  that  the  subject  of  name 
or  title  for  the  corporation  is  worth  some  thought  wherever 
the  communicants  are  organized  separately  from  the  congre- 
gation. If  the  corporation  is  called  church,  as  "the  first 
church  of  A,"  there  is  difficulty  in  teaching  its  members  to 
distinguish  between  the  spiritual  body  and  the  corporation. 
If  the  word  "  society  "  or  "  congregation  "  is  used  for  the  cor- 
poration, reserving  the  word  "  church "  to  designate  the 
body  of  communicants,  one  source  of  confusion  is  avoided. 


Ill 

OFFICERS    AND    MEMBERSHIP 

FIRST.  Other  clauses  of  the  statute  we  are  considering 
empower  the  trustees  to  erect  churches,  meeting-houses, 
parsonages,  schools,  and  other  parish  buildings;  also  ''to  make 
rules  and  orders  for  managing  the  temporal  affairs  of  such 
church,  congregation  or  society,  and  to  dispose  of  all  monies 
belonging  thereto,  and  to  regulate  and  order  the  renting  the 
pews  in  their  churches  and  meeting-houses,  and  the  perquisites 
for  the  breaking  of  the  ground  in  the  cemetery  or  church-yards, 
and  in  the  said  churches  and  meeting-houses  for  burying  of 
the  dead,  and  all  other  matters  relating  to  the  temporal  con- 
cerns and  revenues  of  such  church,  congregation  or  society,'^ 
etc.  A  clause  in  Section  8,  however,  withholds  from  the 
trustees  the  power  to  fix  or  ascertain  the  salary  to  be  paid  to 
a  minister ;  but  requires  the  vote  of  the  congregation  on  that 
question. 

It  will  be  seen  thus  that  the  trustees  are  given  entire  con- 
trol of  the  temporalities  with  the  single  exception  of  fixing 
the  minister's  salary,  which  is  reserved  to  "  the  persons  entitled 
to  vote  for  trustees."  The  law  goes  even  so  far  as  to  speak  of 
the  trustees  as  the  corporation ;  but  the  courts  have  upon  sound 
principles  interpreted  this  to  mean  that  they  represent  the 
corporation  and  exercise  its  general  powers,  like  directors  of 
a  business  corporation.  On  the  other  hand,  they  are  given 
no  power  with  respect  to  the  spiritual  relations  of  the  chui'ch. 
They  are  not  empowered  to  receive  or  dismiss  or  discipline 
members.  The  church  is  entirely  independent  of  them  in 
whatever  it  can  do  without  money ;  and  as  we  shall  see,  the 
trustees'  power  and  duty  to  provide  money  is  given  that  they 
may  enable  the  church  to  do  its  spiritual  work  in  its  own 
way.  The  statute  does  not  even  require  that  there  shall  be  any 
"church,''  in  the  sense  of  a  definite  body  of  communicants 
bound  by  a  covenant  or  confession.  It  is  enough  to  enable 
the  formation  and  continuance  of  the  corporation  that  there 

73 


74  PARISH    BUSINESS 

is  a  society  or  congregation.  There  are,  however,  other  pro- 
visions of  law  the  effect  of  which  is  that  if  there  is  such  a 
body  of  communicants  the  trustees  must  administer  the  tem- 
poralities in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  the  denomina- 
tion to  which  the  communicants  belong.  * 

Trustees  have  not  infrequently  presumed  upon  the  language 
of  the  statute,  and  claimed  to  be  themselves  the  corporation, 
and  to  treat  the  constituency  who  elected  them  as  merely  indi- 
vidual beneficiaries  entitled  only  to  attend  church  and  vote 
for  trustees.  But  this  is  an  error  which  can  rarely  fail  to 
provoke  difficulty.  The  trustees  are  simply  the  executive 
board  in  whom  the  exercise  of  the  corporate  powers  is  vested. 
They  hold  the  corporate  powers,  but  they  hold  them  for  the 
benefit  of  the  body  at  large,  in  the  same  sense  that  the  directors 
of  a  bank  or  railroad  company  hold  as  trustees  of  the  corpora- 
tion whose  affairs  they  direct. 

In  other  words,  the  trustees  are  vested  with  the  powers 
which  they  hold  to  be  exercised  for  the  benefit  of  the  con- 
gregation and  according  to  the  rules  and  usages  of  the 
denomination. 

*  This  rule,  which  secures  the  integrity  of  the  trusts  in  which  church 
property  is  held  by  preventing  funds  raised  by  one  denomination  for  its 
own  uses  from  being  diverted  by  the  secession  of  a  church  or  its  trustees 
to  join  another  denomination  or  to  become  independent,  is  a  sound 
principle  of  good  faith,  and  has  generally  been  recognized  and  enforced 
by  the  American  courts,  including  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

The  courts  of  New- York  at  one  time  held  that  under  the  statute  which 
we  are  now  considering  the  control  of  the  trustees  was  so  unrestricted 
that  if  they  employed  a  minister  of  another  denomination  or  of  no 
denomination,  the  courts  could  not  interfere. 

The  perversions  of  church  property  which  this  extreme  construction  of 
the  statute  indirectly  sanctioned  led  to  the  adoption  in  New-York,  in  1875 
and  1876,  of  statutes  requiring  the  trustees  to  administer  the  temporal- 
ities, for  the  benefit  of  the  corporation,  according  to  the  discipline,  rules, 
and  usages  of  the  church  or  denomination  to  which  the  corporation  or  the 
church  members  of  the  corporation  belong,  and  forbidding  the  diversion 
of  the  funds  therefrom. 

These  statutes  put  an  end  to  the  exceptional  powers  of  trustees  of  New- 
York  societies  in  respect  to  church  perversions,  and  brought  the  law  of 
New-York  into  general  harmony  with  the  present  law  of  most  of  the  other 
States  on  this  point. 

The  law  of  Massachusetts,  in  so  far  as  it  is  peculiar,  would,  perhaps,  not 
be  of  general  interest  here. 


OFFICERS   AND    MEMBERSHIP  75 

The  "society"  thus  constituted  and  represented  by  the 
trustees  is  the  external  and  legally  recognized  body  of  which 
the  "  church"  is,  so  to  speak,  the  soul  or  spirit. 

The  trustees  being  charged  with  the  temporalities  of  the 
congregation,  it  rests  with  them  to  buy  the  lot  and  build  the 
house ;  it  is  for  them  to  furnish  it  and  pay  for  the  organ  and 
furniture,  and  if  they  have  the  assistance  of  voluntary  com- 
mittees in  so  doing  and  money  is  raised  by  subscriptions  or 
fairs,  it  is  usually  properly  understood  that  in  the  absence  of 
any  dilferent  stipulation,  such  gifts  become  a  part  of  the 
"temporalities"  and  belong  to  the  trustees,  for  the  congre- 
gation.    It  is  for  them  to  see  to  the  insurance,  to  employ  the 
sexton,  to  determine  (but  agreeably  to  the  rules  and  usages  of 
the  denomination)  whether  the  church  edifice  can  be  used  for 
concerts  and  lectures,  and  even  to  decide  when  it  is  necessary 
to  close  it  for  repairs.    It  is  for  them  to  collect  all  revenues, 
that  is  to  say,  all  moneys  contributed  to  the  support  of  the 
church,  congregation,  or  society,  and  to  pay  the  pastor's  salary 
and  the  expenses  of  the  music. 

The  questions  whether  they  have  any  part  m  calling  or  dis- 
missing the  pastor,  or  in  the  direction  of  the  music,  bring 
us  to  the  line  between  the  powers  of  the  trustees  and  the 
Dowers  of  the  church.  Whatever  may  be  the  answer,  it  is 
clear  that  in  any  case  the  legal  contract,  by  which  either 
pastor  or  choir  is  entitled  to  be  paid,  is  with  the  trustees  or 
the  corporation  they  represent,  unless,  indeed,  some  individual 
mav  choose  to  make  himself  responsible. 

^tond.  Under  this  dual  system,  the  "church,"  or  spiritual 
body,  is  composed  of  those  who  have  confessed  their  faith 
and  their  discipleship,  and  entered  into  a  religious  covenant 
with  each  other.  Manv  members  of  the  chui-ch  are  members 
of  the  society  also;  but  it  rarely  happens  that  there  are  not 
many  church  members,  who  by  reason  of  absence  or  not  con- 
tributing to  the  financial  support  of  the  society,  or  bemg 
under  age,  are  not  members  of  the  society ;  that  is  to  say,  not 
entitled  to  vote  for  trustees.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are 
usually  many  members  of  the  society  who  are  not  communi- 
cants or  members  of  the  church.  ,  »  .v 
Membership  in  the  church  depends  on  the  consent  of  the 


76  PARISH    BUSINESS 

church.  The  society  have  no  control  over  the  subject.  Mem- 
bership in  the  society  depends  on  the  statute.  Neither  the 
church  nor  the  society  have  any  control  over  that. 

The  church  contains  in  its  membership  those  whose  faith 
dictates  and  directs  the  worship  for  the  support  of  which  the 
society  and  trustees  are  organized.  The  acts  of  worship,  the 
public  services,  and  the  devotional  meetings  are  under  the 
direction  of  the  church,  so  far  as  it  is  according  to  the  rules 
and  usages  of  the  denomination  that  they  should  be.  The 
church,  therefore  (that  is,  the  spiritual  body),  usually  has  the 
initiative  in  the  choice  of  a  pastor,  while  the  congregation  or 
society  (acting,  it  may  be,  through  the  trustees)  unite ;  and 
the  salary  must  be  voted  by  the  society  at  large  and  ratified 
by  the  trustees.  If  in  any  denomination  the  rules  and  usages 
require  the  pastor  to  be  designated  by  an  ecclesiastical 
authority,  the  society  or  trustees  have  yet  to  fix  the  salary. 
This,  of  course,  may  amount  to  a  veto.  If  in  any  church  the 
rules  and  usages  require  absolutely  no  ecclesiastical  connec- 
tion or  sanction,  then  the  whole  power  respecting  pastor  rests 
with  the  trustees.  In  a  strictly  independent  church,  the  pastor 
may  practically  be  chosen  at  pleasure  by  the  trustees,  irre- 
spective of  the  wishes  of  communicants. 

The  church  usually  has  its  own  executive  committee,  called 
a  session  or  other  such  name,  who  are  communicants  of  age 
and  experience,  and  are  the  counselors  and  aids  of  the  pastor. 
The  church  may  take  up  its  own  contributions  for  spiritual 
purposes,  and  apply  them  according  to  its  own  rules  and 
usages,  without  regard  to  the  trustees.  Contributions  for 
missionary  purposes,  and  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  and  sick, 
are  not  contributions  for  the  support  of  the  society,  and  the 
church  may  have  its  own  treasurer  for  such  funds  independ- 
ent of  the  trustees,  or  may  collect  and  administer  them 
through  the  instrumentality  of  the  trustees,  if  the  trustees 
are  willing  to  undertake  the  task. 

Third.  What  has  been  said  of  the  organization  shows  the 
importance  of  a  definite  membership  to  the  peace  and  security 
of  either  body.  The  worst  time  to  determine  whether  a  person 
is  a  member  is  when  he  claims  a  right  to  vote  or  act  as  such. 
If  his  claim  be  challenged  it  must  be  determined,  but  it  will 


OFFICERS    AND    MEMBERSHIP  77 

generally  be  found  that  if  the  rules  of  the  body  had  been 
clearly  expressed,  and  a  proper  record  of  membership  kept, 
there  would  be  no  room  for  controversy,  and  the  personal 
bitterness  which  such  a  controversy  provokes  would  have 
been  avoided. 

There  are  other  reasons  resulting  from  the  law  of  trusts 
which  sometimes  make  the  existence  of  a  definite  and 
positively  ascertainable  membership  important  to  the  right 
of  a  voluntary  association,  such  as  a  "  church "  under  this 
dual  organization,  to  enforce  a  special  trust  made  for  its 
benefit. 

The  first  duty  of  those  who  organize  a  church  is  to  make 
it  clear  beyond  mistake  who  are  entitled  to  vote,  and  this  is 
to  be  done  by  careful  attention  to  the  statute,  where  the  law 
declares  the  right,  and,  if  it  does  not,  by  framing  proper  by- 
laws or  constitutional  rules  settling  in  advance  whether  those 
under  age  and  of  either  sex  may  vote.  Nor  is  this  condition  of 
peace  and  unity  secure  by  the  existence  of  a  rule.  Constant 
attention  must  be  paid  to  maintaining  an  accurate  record  of 
existing  membership — not  that  any  record  can  be  deemed  to 
be  infallible,  and  exclude  all  not  actually  on  it,  but  the  main- 
tenance of  such  a  record  reduces  the  number  of  questionable 
voters  to  a  minimum,  and  often  preserves  harmony  where  the 
neglect  of  it  would  invite  dissension. 

Fourth.  Under  the  statute  we  have  been  considering,  the 
qualifications  of  a  voter  (after  the  first  or  incorporating 
election)  are : 

1.  FuU  age. 

2.  Having  been  a  stated  attendant  on  divine  worship  in 
the  church  at  least  for  a  year  preceding  the  election  (or  in 
some  States  six  months). 

3.  Having  contributed  to  the  support  of  the  society 
according  to  its  usages  and  customs. 

The  right  to  vote  extends  to  women  as  weU  as  men,  under 
the  New- York  statute,  if  they  possess  these  qualifications.* 

It  will   at  once    strike  the   reader  that  there  is  here  no 
religious  test.    .It  is  not  necessary  that  the  voter  be  a  com- 
mit has  not,  however,  been  extended  to  women  in  the  Episcopal  or 
Reformed  Dutch  congregations. 


78  PARISH    BUSINESS 

municant.*  Nor  is  it  enough  that  he  be  a  communicant. 
The  statute  qualifications  are  alone  to  be  considered,  and  the 
trustees  cannot  alter  them. 

^' A  stated  attendant"  means  a  usual  or  habitual  but  not 
necessarily  a  uniform  attendant.  If  a  contested  election 
should  turn  on  the  question  whether  a  particular  person  vot- 
ing" or  excluded  from  voting  had  been  such  an  attendant  for 
the  year,  the  law  would  determine  it  by  the  reasonable  mean- 
ing and  application  of  the  phrase,  in  contradistinction  to 
occasional  attendance.  The  stated  preaching  of  the  gospel 
exists  where  the  services  are  regularly  held  (emergencies 
excepted)  in  virtue  of  one  continuous  engagement  or  obliga- 
tion, and  services  faithfully  held  under  such  appointment  once 
in  two  weeks  or  once  in  four  weeks  might  be  more  truly  said 
to  be  stated  services  than  services  much  more  frequent  but 
dependent  on  casual  circumstances  and  special  purposes.  So 
the  phrase  "  stated  attendant "  is  used  to  import  something  in 
the  nature  of  a  continued  tie  of  acknowledged  duty  or  princi- 
ple identifying  the  person  with  the  services,  rather  than  an 
absolute  invariable  presence. 

Contribution  to  the  support  of  '^  the  church  society  or  con- 
gregation "  has  reference  to  contribution  to  the  temporalities 
in  charge  of  the  trustees,  by  which  the  expenses  of  the  ser- 
vices are  met.  Giving  to  the  contributions  taken  for  mis- 
sionary purposes  does  not  qualify  to  vote  for  trustees.  On 
the  other  hand,  personal  services  may  be  given  by  an  attend- 
ant, and  accepted  by  the  trustees  as  a  contribution  to  the 
support  of  the  society,  if  they  are  such  as  are  usually  paid  for. 

The  contribution  must  be  ''according  to  the  usages  and 
customs  "  of  the  society.  If  the  expenses  are  paid  in  whole  or 
in  part  from  weekly  offerings,  contributions  in  that  manner 
are  enough.  If  from  pew-rents,  the  payment  of  pew-rent  to 
the  trustees  is  enough.  But  neither  the  trustees  nor  the  soci- 
ety can  prescribe  a  test  of  contribution  independent  of  the 

*  There  are  recent  statutes  under  which  Baptist  and  Congregational 
churches  may  organize  in  a  way  to  give  the  right  to  vote  to  communicants 
only,  and  there  is  a  local  exception  in  the  Methodist  churches  in  Brook- 
lyn ;  but  most  of  the  churches  of  these  denominations  live  under  the 
general  law  I  am  stating  in  the  text. 


OFFICERS    AND    MEMBERSHIP  79 

usages  of  the  body.  One  society  adopted  at  its  organization 
a  standing  rule  that  payment  of  pew-rent  should  be  the  only 
mode  of  contribution  for  the  purpose  of  entitling  to  vote. 
Years  afterward  the  trustees,  needing  more  money,  tried  the 
plan  of  circulating  collection-plates  at  every  service ;  and  it 
I)ecame  for  several  years  the  usage  of  the  society  to  raise  part 
of  its  expenses  in  this  way.  At  an  election  during  this  usage 
the  trustees  cited  the  old  rule  and  sought  to  exclude  from 
voting  those  stated  attendants  of  a  year's  standing  and  full 
age  who  had  habitually  contributed  in  the  plates  but  had  not 
rented  pews.  But  these  voters  could  not  be  excluded,  because 
they  had  contributed  according  to  the  usage,  and  therefore 
were  protected  by  the  statute.  In  one  controversy  on  which 
the  writer  had  to  advise,  the  trustees  passed  a  resolution  that 
no  one  should  be  deemed  to  have  contributed  who  had  not 
paid  at  least  ten  dollars ;  but  under  an  order  of  the  court  they 
refrained  from  enforcing  the  resolution. 

Payment  to  a  pewholder  by  one  to  whom  the  pewholder 
sublets  a  part  of  his  pew  cannot  justly  be  considered  contri- 
bution to  the  support  of  the  society.  The  subtenant,  if  he 
wishes  to  be  entitled  to  vote  by  reason  of  paying  rent,  should 
agi'ee  to  pay  a  part  of  the  rent,  and  pay  it  to  the  trustees  or 
their  collector. 

In  a  very  warmly  contested  case  the  trustees,  whose  zeal  in 
controversy  spoiled  their  judgment,  quietly  arranged  with 
members  of  the  party  in  the  congregation  that  were  favora- 
ble to  the  trustees'  side  of  the  contest  that  each  pewholder 
among  them,  instead  of  paying  an  entire  rent  on  a  single  pew, 
as  the  members  of  the  other  party  usually  did,  should  cause  a 
separate  rent  to  be  paid  for  each  seat  in  the  name  of  each  of 
the  respective  members  of  his  family,  so  that  when  the  time 
for  counting  strength  in  votes  came  the  trustees  claimed 
about  four  or  five  votes  to  a  pew  on  their  side  of  the  question, 
and  allowed  only  one  vote  to  a  pew  for  most  of  those  opposed 
to  them.  The  exposure  of  the  device  sufficed  to  deprive  it 
of  success. 

The  statute  directs  the  clerk  to  the  trustees  to  "keep  a 
register  of  the  names  of  all  such  persons  as  shall  desire  to 
become  stated  hearers  in  the  said  church,  congregation  or 


80  PARISH    BUSINESS 

society,  and  shall  therein  note  the  time  when  such  request 
was  made,"  and  adds,  ''  the  said  clerk  shall  attend  all  such 
subsequent  elections  [after  the  first]  in  order  to  test  the  quali- 
fications of  such  electors,  in  case  the  same  should  be  ques- 
tioned." 

This  list,  however,  is  not  conclusive.  Obviously,  a  person 
who  had  his  name  put  upon  it  at  or  before  the  beginning  of 
the  year  might  fail  to  attend  or  contribute  ;  and  on  the  other 
hand,  a  failure  to  get  on  the  list,  or  the  omission  to  keep  such 
a  list,  could  not  take  away  the  right  of  one  qualified  by  the 
statute  to  vote. 


IV 

ADMINISTRATION 

T.     CONTROLLING    THE    USE    OF    THE    BUILDING 

IT  follows  from  what  has  been  previously  said  that  the 
building  exists  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  church.  It 
is  for  this  sacred  purpose  that  it  has  been  procured,  and  it  is 
to  serve  this  purpose  that  the  title  is  vested  in  the  corporation 
or  the  trustees  who  are  charged  with  its  control.  It  may  be 
proper  that  the  edifice  should  be  used  in  every  way  that  is 
wholly  promotive  of  religion  in  the  broadest  sense ;  and  the 
propriety  of  its  use  in  any  particular  case  should,  doubtless, 
be  determined  in  view  of  the  rules  and  usages  of  the  denom- 
ination, the  condition  of  the  community,  and  the  nature  of 
the  proposed  use. 

But  the  question,  Who  is  to  determine  this  propriety  ?  is  a 
distinct  question. 

Under  the  dual  organization  already  described,  the  legal 
title  is  in  the  trustees.  The  ^^  church  "  itself  has  the  right  to 
the  use  of  the  edifice ;  but  even  their  use  is  subject  to  the 
reasonable  and  necessary  limitations  of  what  I  may  call  the 
"housekeeping  arrangements"  of  the  trustees.  Thus  the 
''  church "  or  their  representative  body  have  the  right  to 
decide  on  the  times  of  worship,  but  the  trustees  have  the 
right  to  close  the  house  for  repairs.  The  pastor  or  officers  of 
the  church  (except  in  those  organizations  where  the  powers  of 
the  church  are  expressly  vested  in  him  or  them)  have  no  right 
to  let  the  edifice  or  give  its  use  to  any  special  purpose  how- 
ever laudable.  For  the  pastor  to  announce  a  special  lecture 
or  concert  in  the  church  without  assent  of  the  trustees  is  like 
appointing  a  meeting  in  a  member's  parlor  without  notice  to 
him.  If  ever  justifiable,  it  is  on  the  faith  of  the  existence  of 
that  good  nature  which  may  even  sanction  a  surprise  party. 
For  any  special  service,  even  of  the  church  itself  at  an  unusual 
time,  the  concurrence  of  the  trustees  or  their  representative 
officer  should  be  sought,  because  the  safe  keeping  of  the 
6  «' 


82  PARISH    BUSINESS 

building  and  its  furniture  and  the  arrangements  for  cleaning, 
heating,  and  lighting  are  all  in  their  hands,  and  made  at  their 
expense;  and  while  they  have  no  right  to  close  the  edifice 
against  the  church,  except  when  repairs  and  renovations 
require  it,  they  have  a  duty  in  reference  to  its  use  and  care 
that  requires  that  they  should  be  consulted  in  reference  to 
time  of  unusual  services.  They  must  not,  however,  unneces- 
sarily refuse  to  allow  the  church  to  meet  in  its  own  edifice. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  trustees  have  no  right  to  use  the  edifice 
for  other  purposes  Avithout  the  assent  of  the  church.  It  is 
sacred  to  religious  uses  and  the  business  necessarily  attendant 
on  those  uses.  The  trustees  may  well  assume  the  acquiescence 
of  the  church  in  occasional  uses  for  religious  services  in  har- 
mony Avith  its  order,  faith,  and  discipline;  but  other  occa- 
sional use,  or  any  regular  use  whatever  beside  that  of  the 
church,  approaches  toward  a  breach  of  trust  in  proportion  as 
it  disregards  the  restrictions  which  the  usages  of  the  denomi- 
nation impose  on  the  uses  of  their  church  edifices.  Lectures 
and  concerts  of  a  kind  that  are  sanctioned  in  church  edifices 
by  the  usages  of  the  denomination,  the  trustees  may  properly 
aUow  with  the  express  or  tacit  assent  of  the  church.  But  if 
they  assume  to  act  on  tacit  assent  and  on  individual  objects, 
they  ought  to  be  very  prompt  to  ask  express  assent  of  the 
church  or  its  committee  before  turning  the  property  to  any 
use,  however  good,  other  than  that  of  the  church  for  whose 
use  it  was  acquired. 

II.     THE    MUSIC 

It  will  be  seen  from  what  has  been  said  that  the  musical 
arrangements  are  upon  the  line.  The  service  of  the  choir 
is  part  of  the  worship,  and  the  church  are  clearly  entitled  to 
have  it  conducted  in  consonance  with  the  usages  of  the 
denomination.  The  trustees  cannot  put  in  an  organ  against 
the  wish  of  the  church.  But  if  an  organ  is  put  in,  since  the 
salaries  are  part  of  the  temporalities,  the  trustees  may  claim  a 
right  to  control  the  expenditure.  There  need  be  no  practical 
difficulty  in  either  method,  if  it  be  distinctly  understood  which 
body  is  charged  with  the  power  and  duty.  In  one  of  the  best- 
organized  churches  within  my  knowledge,  it  was  agreed  for- 


ADMINISTRATION  83 

maUy  at  the  outset,  by  vote  of  both  bodies,  that  the  church 
shoukl  always  have  direction  of  the  musical  as  well  as  the 
other  parts  of  the  service,  and  that  the  trustees  should  pay 
the  reasonable  expenses  thereof. 

Probably  the  experience  of  most  readers  will  confirm  the 
opinion  that  the  musical  arrangements,  subject  to  the  veto  of 
the  trustees  as  to  cost,  ought  to  be  in  charge  of  a  committee 
in  closest  sympathy  with  the  pastor  and  the  direction  of  the 
worship.  Trustees,  when  charged  with  providing  the  music, 
are  sometimes  tempted  to  consider  it  as  a  means  of  attract- 
ing pewholders  and  contributors,  in  the  laudable  desire  to 
enhance  the  income  of  the  society,  instead  of  considering 
simply  its  function  as  a  part  of  the  worship. 

III.     IMPORTANCE    OF    REGULARITY 

I  OUGHT  not  to  take  space  here  to  insist  on  the  absolute 
duty  of  scrupulously  fair  and  honorable  dealing  in  church 
affairs.  Every  pastor  should  not  only  instruct  but  inspire  his 
people  with  this  principle.  But  it  is  probably  needful  to  say 
something  of  the  importance  of  regularity  in  parish  business. 
By  regularity  I  mean  careful  conformity  to  rule.  If  the 
statute  requires  fifteen  days'  notice  of  a  meeting,  it  is  folly  to 
say,  "  Well,  one  week  will  do  for  us."  If  it  requires  the  pas- 
tor^s  salary  to  be  confirmed  by  a  writing  signed  and  sealed  by 
the  trustees,  it  is  very  unjust  to  the  pastor  to  neglect  to  make 
and  deliver  to  him  such  a  certificate.  If  it  requires  that  two 
elders  or  church- wardens,  or  if  there  be  no  such  officers,  then 
two  of  the  members  nominated  by  a  majority  of  the  mem- 
bers present,  shall  preside  at  elections,  it  is  not  wise  for  two 
of  the  trustees  to  volunteer  to  act  instead ;  and  if  they  do, 
still  more  foolish  for  them  to  feel  hurt  if  some  more  cautious 
brother  objects  that  it  is  irregular.  Even  though  the  regula- 
tion be  a  foolish  one,  compliance  is  generally  wise.  An 
irregularity  may  be  no  harm  in  itself,  but  yet  afford  just  the 
place  into  which  a  mischief-maker  may  introduce  harm. 

There  is  no  crack  so  slight  but  some  brother  with  a  crotch- 
ety conscience  may  think  it  his  duty  to  put  in  a  wedge.  The 
majority  of  church  quarrels  within  my  knowledge  have  been 


84  PARISH    BUSINESS 

introduced  by  some  afterthought,  taking  advantage  of  a 
technical  irregularity. 

The  short  notice  of  meeting,  or  the  informal  agreement  on 
salary,  or  the  neglect  to  record  a  resolution,  may  do  no  harm, 
unless  an  occasion  arises  when  some  brother  thinks  it  his 
duty  to  oppose  what  has  been  done.  If  it  had  been  done 
regularly,  he  would  have  no  ground  to  stand  upon.  The 
irregularity  lets  him  in  to  compel  a  division  of  the  church  on 
his  favorite  controversy,  whatever  it  is. 

I  do  not  suppose  that  any  general  suggestions  on  this  point 
would  be  useful  here  beyond  sajdng  that  every  pastor  and 
board  of  trustees,  and  church  committee  or  session,  ought  to 
enlist  the  attention  and  service  in  office  of  one  or  more  men 
of  good  sense  and  experience  in  affairs,  who  have  given  or 
will  give  the  necessary  attention  to  the  law  of  the  State  in 
which  they  are,  to  enable  the  body  to  take  every  step  with 
regularity.  It  does  not  necessarily  require  a  lawj^er,  and  if 
he  is  a  lawyer  he  should  above  aU  be  a  Christian  lawyer,  to 
whom  the  cause  of  Christ  and  the  principles  which  Christ 
taught  are  paramount  to  every  other  consideration ;  but  it 
does  require  a  conscientious  attention  to  details,  and  a  mod- 
erate and  judicious  spirit. 


IV. 

First.  Akin  to  the  importance  of  a  known  and  public 
record  of  membership  is  that  of  formal  elections,  regularly 
recurring  and  distinctly  understood,  and  regular  records  of 
election.  These  should  never  be  neglected.  Officers  should 
never  be  left  to  hold  over  for  want  of  an  election,  nor  reelected 
informally  without  a  record  of  the  act.  Laxity  in  this  respect 
has  often  gone  unnoticed  until,  when  some  question  divided 
the  society  which  would  never  have  sustained  a  controversy 
by  itself,  the  appearance  of  two  sets  of  officers  espousing  oppo- 
site sides  has  suddenly  disclosed  the  fatal  neglect ;  and  here 
again  the  personal  element  thus  introduced  makes  a  new  dis- 
sension far  worse  than  the  first  question. 

In  some  religious  corporations  the  elections  for  trustees  are 
held  at  an  annual  meeting,  at  which  reports  of  the  transactions 


ADMINISTRATION  85 

of  the  year  are  made  by  the  board ;  the  treasurer's  account  is 
presented  and  audited,  or  presented  after  having  been  previ- 
ously audited  by  direction  of  the  trustees  ;  the  question  of  the 
pastor's  salary  voted  on,  if  any  change  or  renewal  is  to  be 
made ;  and  any  matters  concerning  the  general  interests  of 
the  society  are  discussed.  In  other  churches  the  election  is 
held  by  "opening  the  polls,"  between  specified  hours  on  the 
day  fixed,  without  any  organized  meeting.  The  New- York 
statute  allows  either  method.  In  those  churches  where  there 
are  abundant  means  and  the  finances  are  cared  for  easily,  the 
latter  method  is  perhaps  more  common.  In  those  where  it  is 
desired  to  enlist  the  active  cooperation  of  as  many  as  may  be, 
or  where  the  trustees  desire  to  act  as  far  as  possible  under  in- 
structions or  advice  from  the  congregation,  the  former  method 
is  more  common.  But  it  should  not  be  forgotten,  in  society 
meetings  that  to  a  great  extent  the  legal  power  as  well  as  the 
responsibility  remains  with  the  trustees,  and  that  on  most  sub- 
jects the  meeting  should  request,  not  instruct.  It  is  not  incon- 
sistent with  this  to  add  that  the  trustees  should  in  most  things 
seek  to  know  and  carry  out  the  wishes  of  the  society,  the  best 
expression  of  which  is  had  by  the  regular  maintenance  of  such 
meetings  and  the  calling  of  special  meetings  whenever  special 
emergencies  arise. 

The  question  whether  a  nominating  committee  shall  be 
appointed,  or  nominations  at  large  be  received,  is  constantly 
up.     Each  system  has  its  advantages  and  disadvantages. 

Where  the  policy  of  enlisting  as  general  cooperation  as  pos- 
sible in  the  work  of  the  church,  and  judiciously  consulting  the 
average  or  general  preference  is  the  policy  which  animates  the 
conduct  of  affairs,  a  very  good  method  is  to  take  an  advisory 
ballot,  either  with  or  without  previous  open  nominations,  and, 
without  making  the  result  of  the  ballot  public,  refer  it  to  a 
judicious  nominating  committee.  This  gives  the  committee 
fairly  accurate  knowledge  of  the  general  feeling  or  wish,  and 
enables  such  nominations  to  be  made  as  shall  both  respect 
that  wish  and  strengthen  the  organization  for  its  work. 

Second.  The  question  is  often  asked  whether  parliamentary 
law  ought  to  prevail  in  the  business  meetings  of  a  religious 
body.     Probably  those  best  qualified  to   judge  would  agree 


86  PARISH    BUSINESS 

that  it  ought  to  be  insisted  on  so  far  as  necessary  to  secure 
that  "all  things  be  done  decently  and  in  order/'  and  no 
fui'ther.  The  true  distinction  may  be  suggested  by  saying 
that  the  principles  of  parliamentary  law  ought  never  to  be 
forgotten,  and  the  rules  of  parliamentary  law  never  to  be 
mentioned  unless  clearly  necessary. 

The  principles  of  deliberative  order  that  appear  to  be  most 
important  to  these  organizations  are  that  : 

1.  He  w^ho  speaks  should  not  address  any  individual  but 
the  chairman,  and  should  not  be  interrupted  by  others,  except 
by  necessity  and  in  the  most  courteous  manner. 

2.  Discussion  should  not  be  carried  on  without  a  definite 
proposal  before  the  meeting,  and  remarks  should  be  confined 
to  that  proposal  or  modifications  of  it. 

3.  In  discussing  a  definite  proposal,  opportunity  should  be 
afforded  to  all ;  and  if  limit  becomes  necessary,  it  is  fairer  to 
fix  the  one  limit  of  time  for  all  speakers  than  to  cut  off  dis- 
cussion by  an  arbitrary  time  or  by  the  previous  question. 

Third.  Every  corporate  act  of  the  membership  at  large 
should  appear  in  its  own  record-book.  The  record-book  of 
the  board  of  trustees  should  be  a  separate  volume,  or,  if  for 
convenience  the  same  volume  is  used,  the  records  should  be 
distinct  from  each  other,  and  the  minutes  of  a  meeting  of  the 
society  at  large  and  those  of  a  meeting  of  the  board  of  officers 
should  never  be  confused  with  each  other  nor  be  capable  of 
being  mistaken  for  each  other.  In  more  than  one  case  the 
whole  property  of  a  church  has  been  imperiled  by  careless 
disregard  of  the  distinction. 


V 

FINANCIAL    AND    LEGAL 


FIRST.  The  contracts  which  the  trustees  make  they  should 
remember  they  make  as  trustees^  and  it  is  a  part  of  the 
trust  reposed  in  them  that  they  make  them  legally  and 
effectively. 

K  the  law,  as  in  New- York,  requires  the  salary  to  be  fixed 
by  the  society,  and  ratified  by  the  trustees  under  seal,  they 
ought  to  see  to  it  that  the  proceedings  to  fijx  the  salary  are 
regular,  and  that  the  proper  instrument  of  ratification  is 
made  and  delivered  to  the  pastor  as  his  evidence  of  the  con- 
tract. In  private  business  a  man  may  often  omit  to  volunteer 
such  a  formality  unless  or  until  the  other  party  to  the  arrange- 
ment asks  for  it ;  but  in  church  business,  to  assume  the  moral 
obligation  of  payment  which  will  bind  the  consciences  of  all 
or  nearly  all,  and  neglect  the  legal  formality  which  belongs  to 
that  obligation,  is  only  to  leave  open  the  way  for  some  fut- 
ure objector  who  is  not  controlled  by  the  moral  obligation  to 
endeavor  to  stop  the  trustees  from  paying  an  obligation  that 
is  not  legal.  In  a  secular  corporation  such  a  loophole  is  often 
thought  profitable.  In  a  church  corporation  its  immorality  is 
seen,  and  it  can  never  have  the  poor  excuse  of  being  profitable. 
The  same  principle  ought  to  lead  to  clothing  every  transaction 
of  the  parish  affairs  in  regularity  which  cannot  be  success- 
fully questioned. 

Second.  Every  prospering  church  has  a  gradually  accumu- 
lating permanent  property.  It  begins  with  a  church  lot  and 
edifice ;  when  that  is  free  from  debt,  perhaps  a  parsonage  is 
added,  perhaps  a  mission  school-house,  then  a  parish-house, 
and  so  on.  The  property  may  be  small,  but  it  is  growing. 
What  it  may  become  doth  not  yet  appear.  If  the  foimdation 
of  the  trust  on  which  it  is  held  is  secure,  its  permanent  use- 
fulness is  secure.  If  the  trust  is  knoivn  to  be  secure,  and  the 
members  of  the  society  and  its  officers,  instead  of  speaking 

87 


88  PARISH    BUSINESS 

lightly  of  proper  precaution  and  formality,  take  a  pride  in  its 
security  and  the  precautions  that  confirm  it,  the  very  existence 
of  the  fund  becomes  an  invitation  to  aid  its  increase. 

There  is  no  reason  why  the  foundation  of  special  funds  in 
trust  in  connection  with  our  churches  should  not  largely 
increase,  thus  securing  useful  provisions  for  some  purposes 
that  otherwise  are  neglected. 

n.     DEBT 

If  the  officers  of  religious  corporations  depending  on  vol- 
untary contributions  realized  how  much  easier  it  is  to  raise 
the  money  for  a  desired  object  before  the  desire  has  been  grati- 
fied than  after,  there  would  be  fewer  debts.  If  they  did  not 
conceal  indebtedness  debts  would  be  smaller. 

The  first  step  toward  canceling  a  debt  is  to  face  its  exist- 
ence. If  it  cannot  be  extinguished  at  once,  the  next  step  is  to 
put  it  at  once  in  the  way  of  gradual  extinction.  The  discour- 
agement of  a  debt  is  not  in  its  existence,  but  in  its  increase. 
Debt  is  only  the  under-side  of  credit,  and  the  disposition  of 
enterprising  Americans  to  take  advantage  of  the  assistance  of 
credit  is  too  strong  to  justify  the  hope  that  churches  will  soon 
be  brought  into  existence  without  debt.  But  if  a  debt  is 
diminishing,  or  can  be  put  in  the  way  of  diminishing,  its 
existence  is  no  reason  for  discouragement.  Hence,  if  there  is 
.  a  chronic  debt,  it  is  indispensable  either  to  reduce  it  at  once, 
or  make  a  budget  for  the  year  that  will  reduce  it  even  a  little 
within  the  year.  When  the  current  is  once  flowing  in  the 
right  dii'ection,  and  things  are  getting  better  instead  of  worse, 
even  if  it  is  only  a  very  little  better,  relief  is  only  a  question 
of  time  5  and  the  encouragement  that  comes  with  progress  in 
reduction  will,  sooner  or  later,  bring  the  time  when  immediate 
and  complete  relief  will  be  feasible. 

Trustees,  in  dealing  with  finances,  sometimes  forget  the 
power  there  is  in  the  paramount  object  of  the  church,  and 
object  to  the  church  attempting  to  give  money  for  the  promo- 
tion of  religion  until  it  has  paid  its  own  debts  and  expenses. 
But  a  large  part  of  those  in  any  prosperous  church  who  give  to 
its  debts  and  expenses  do  so  because  the  church  is  doing  some- 


FINANCIAL    AND    LEGAL  89 

thing  for  missionary  and  other  religious  causes.  That  is  why 
they  are  in  that  church.  To  suspend  outside  benevolence  until 
a  debt  is  paid,  or  while  expenses  are  equal  to  income,  is  to  turn 
away  the  chief  element  of  strength.  No  thinking  Christian 
desires  to  continue  long  a  member  of  a  church  which  requires 
all  he  can  give  to  religion  to  be  spent  upon  itself.  That  which 
draws  Christians  to  the  church  is  the  success  of  the  church  in 
its  true  work,  and  the  vigorous  maintenance  of  that  work  is 
the  surest  way  to  enlist  the  devotion,  self-denial,  and  persist- 
ence needed  to  carry  the  church  through  its  own  financial 
necessities. 

III.     LEGAL    ADVICE    AND    SERVICES 

If  a  church  enjoys  the  wisdom  of  good  sense  and  conscien- 
tious business  ability,  and  its  men  of  business  and  profes- 
sional men  will  attend  its  business  meetings  and  look  after  its 
affairs,  the  occasions  on  which  it  will  need  legal  services  will 
be  rare,  and  even  the  occasions  when  its  officers  wiU  need 
even  legal  advice  will  not  be  frequent. 

When  legal  advice  or  service  is  needed,  it  should  be  sought 
directly  and  paid  for,  so  that  it  shall  be  given  under  the 
sanction  of  professional  responsibility;  for  a  church  should 
not  expect  to  get  its  title  secured,  any  more  than  its  roof 
shingled,  for  nothing,  unless  indeed  it  is  so  fortunate  as  to 
have  friends  that  will  do  either  as  thoroughly  and  well  for 
love  as  for  money.  On  the  other  hand,  such  a  spirit  ought  to 
prevail  that  neither  a  legal  adviser  nor  any  other  member  of 
the  church  should  expect  to  make  money  out  of  its  service. 

Among  other  occasions  when  professional  advice  is  usually 
necessary  is  the  drawing  of  a  subscription  paper  for  prelimi- 
nary funds  before  organization,  for  the  object  of  the  trust 
may  depend  on  this,  and  such  advice  is  particularly  impor- 
tant if  the  committee  propose  to  buy  land  with  contributions 
before  incorporating.  Under  the  New-York  statute,  private 
parties  may  act  in  this  way,  and,  if  the  papers  are  properly 
drawn,  will  hold  the  property  under  a  legal  duty  to  surrender 
it  to  the  corporation  when  formed.  Another  occasion  is  the 
effecting  a  legal  incorporation  ;  another,  the  purchase  or  sale 
of  real  property.     The  purchase  of  property  for  a  mission 


90  PARISH    BUSINESS 

school,  and  the  understanding  as  to  whether  the  title  is  to  be 
held  by  the  society  or  a  new  organization  is  equally  important. 
On  many  of  these  occasions  such  services  as  are  necessary 
will  most  likely  be  cheerfully  given  gratuitously  in  aid  of  the 
enterprise,  if  the  church  is  ready  to  pay  for  them ;  for  this 
readiness  gives  at  once  a  pecuniary  value  to  the  services  and 
to  the  gift  of  them.  But  to  attempt  to  get  such  services  by 
indirection,  by  asking  begging  questions,  is  very  poor  economy. 


IV.     FINANCIAL    ACCOUNTS 

In  many  churches  there  is  a  good  deal  of  mystery  on  this 
subject.  One  would  think  from  the  secrecy  —  or,  rather,  I 
should  say,  the  silence — which  envelops  church  finances  that 
there  was  some  fear  that  if  the  congregation  knew  how  the 
money  was  spent  they  might  be  less  inclined  to  give.  The 
most  prosperous  churches  I  know,  large  and  small  (except 
those  endowed  churches  so  rare  in  this  country),  are  those  in 
which  the  frank  policy  prevails  of  making  known  the  items 
and  taking  care  to  make  them  effectually  known.  More  than 
one  church  within  my  knowledge  has  found  that  a  decided 
increase  in  its  income  followed  the  publicity  of  its  expenses. 
One  of  the  best-managed  churches  I  have  seen  publishes  each 
year  in  a  manual,  distributed  through  all  the  pews,  the  account 
rendered  for  the  year  by  the  treasurer  of  the  board  of  trustees 
showing  how  much  was  paid  for  pastor's  salary,  how  much  to 
the  sexton,  how  much  for  each  item  of  church  expenses,  from 
the  coal  in  the  cellar  up  to  the  organ-blower  in  the  loft ;  and 
the  only  ruffle  about  expenses  it  has  had  for  a  long  time  was 
when  some  well-meaning  members  undertook  to  raise  a  pri- 
vate purse  to  supplement  the  appropriation  for  music  under  a 
pledge  that  nobody  outside  the  committee  should  know  how 
much  was  raised  and  spent  in  this  way. 

Ingenuity  in  making  the  financial  condition  known,  even  if 
that  condition  be  a  debt,  is  sometimes  well  rewarded.  In  one 
church  where  there  had  been  a  large  purchase  of  property  on 
credit,  assuming  thereby  a  debt  which  many  would  have  tried 
to  keep  as  shady  as  possible,  the  rector  hung  up  in  the  vesti- 
bule a  diagram  of  the  property,  marked  with  as  many  squares 


FINANCIAL    AND    LEGAL  91 

as  there  were  dollars  in  the  debt,  and  as  fast  as  contributions 
came  in  from  week  to  week  he  marked  off  a  corresponding  num- 
ber of  squares.     The  effect  was  magical. 

In  fact,  with  comparatively  few  exceptions,  the  members  of 
a  congregation  are  desirous  to  forward  its  work  and  supply 
its  needs.  If  kept  in  ignorance  of  its  financial  condition,  their 
disposition  will  still  lead  them  to  contribute  something ;  so 
that  if  a  church  is  too  rich  to  need  anything,  the  policy  of  mys- 
tery may  secure  contributions.  But  if  it  is  in  need,  systemat- 
ically making  known  its  needs  is  the  best  policy,  unless  on  the 
other  hand  it  is  bankrupt,  so  that  a  knowledge  of  its  condition 
would  lead  people  to  abandon  it  as  hopeless.  Even  then  pub- 
licity, though  jjainful,  is  wholesome  in  a  religious  enterprise. 

One  of  the  chief  advantages  of  publicity  is  in  the  obstacle  it 
interposes  to  the  insidious  process  of  growing  a  debt.  There 
are  many  churches  settling  down  to  this  profitless  work  and 
nobody  knows  anything  about  it.  Even  the  trustees  can 
hardly  be  said  to  know  it.  If  the  treasury  had  a  surplus  they 
would  know  it,  but  as  it  is  overdrawn,  they  are  all  thinking 
about  something  else,  except  the  treasurer,  and  he  does  n't  like 
to  complain,  hoping  that  the  end  of  the  year  will  come  out 
right.  Meanwhile  biUs  go  unpaid,  interest  accumulates,  the 
building  begins  to  wear  an  air  of  dilapidation  and  faded  credit, 
a  tone  of  languor  and  uncertainty  marks  the  enterprise,  mem- 
bers of  the  congregation  are  disheartened  and  lose  their 
attachment  without  knowing  why,  and  all  because  a  secret 
debt  is  growing.  In  most  cases  if  it  was  not  a  secret  it  would 
not  grow ;  that  is  to  say,  if  the  church  deserved  to  live.  But  a 
church  that  is  working  up  a  debt  cannot  do  much  other  work, 
while  a  church  that  is  working  down  a  debt,  even  though  it  be 
slowly  and  with  a  painful  effort,  is  in  the  path  of  usefulness 
and  on  the  way  to  freedom. 

A  change  from  the  policy  of  silence  to  that  of  pubhcity  can- 
not always  be  made  at  once.  The  reader  who  may  approve 
the  views  I  have  expressed  and  desire  to  see  them  adopted  in 
his  church  may  find  great  opposition.  It  may  take  time  to 
introduce  the  change.  It  may  not  be  feasible  to  carry  it  all  at 
once.  But  the  principle  of  making  known  definitely  the 
receipts  and  items  of  expenditure  and  taking  pains  to  call 


92  PARISH    BUSINESS 

general  attention  to  them,  in  whatever  department  ihis  policy 
may  be  commenced,  whether  in  society  or  corporation,  or  in 
the  Sunday-school  work,  or  in  the  missionary  contributions,  or 
in  a  building  enterprise,  or  in  buying  a  lot,  will,  I  believe,  dem- 
onstrate its  own  usefulness  in  encouraging  contributions  to 
every  purpose  that  is  well  managed,  and  will  in  time  lead  to  a 
wholesome  publicity  of  aU  expenditures,  except  the  details  of 
those  charitable  personal  succors  which  one  hand  should  not 
know  the  other  is  doing. 

V.     RULES    OF    ORDER 

The  following  rules  of  order  are  suggested  for  business 
meetings.  They  may  well  be  incorporated  into  the  manual  of 
the  church  : 

Officers. — At  the  appointed  time  for  the  meeting,  the  pas- 
tor, when  present,  shall  act  as  moderator.  In  case  of  his 
absence  the  clerk,  or  if  the  clerk  is  absent,  any  member,  may 
call  the  church  to  order,  and  pu.t  the  question  upon  the  choice 
of  a  moderator. 

When  the  moderator  chosen  has  taken  the  chair,  if  the  clerk 
is  absent,  a  clerk  pro  tem.  should  be  chosen. 

Speaking. —  When  a  member  desires  to  be  heard,  he  should 
rise  in  his  place  and  address  himself  to  the  presiding  officer  by 
his  title,  moderator,  and  should  then  pause  for  a  moment  until 
the  moderator  announces  his  name,  or  otherwise  designates 
him. 

Motions. —  Every  motion  must  be  made  in  writing,  if 
required  by  any  member ;  and,  when  seconded,  must  be  read 
or  clearly  stated  by  the  moderator,  and  submitted  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  church.  A  motion  made  and  seconded  must 
be  disposed  of  before  any  other  business  is  in  order ;  and 
meanwhile  all  other  motions  are  out  of  order,  except  such  as 
dispose  of  a  principal  question,  as  a  motion  to  amend  or  com- 
mit, or  foi-  the  previous  question  ;  and  such  as  arise  out  of  or 
are  incidental  to  the  principal  motion,  as  questions  relating 
to  order,  motions  for  leave  to  withdraw  a  motion,  etc. ;  and 
motions  incidental  to  business,  as  motions  to  adjourn,  etc. 

An  Amendment  may  go  to  the  exclusion,  addition,  or  sub- 
stitution of  words  or  sentences  ;  indeed,  a  motion  to  amend  by 


FINANCIAL    AND    LEGAL  93 

striking  out  all  the  words  after  the  word  resolved,  and  substi- 
tuting an  entirely  new  proposition  upon  the  same  subject,  is 
in  order.  But  where  a  resolution  is  in  sections,  the  amend- 
ments must  be  in  the  order  of  the  sections,  beginning  with  the 
first  section ;  and  therefore,  if  an  amendment  is  made  to  the 
third  section  of  a  resolution  first,  and  carried,  it  will  be  out  of 
order  to  move  an  amendment  to  the  first  or  second  section. 
No  subject  different  from  that  under  consideration  can  be 
admitted  under  color  of  an  amendment. 

Dividing  Resolutions. — Where  a  proposition  is  compli- 
cated, the  presiding  officer  may  divide  the  same,  at  the  request 
of  a  member. 

Withdrawing  Motion. — Until  a  motion  has  been  stated  to 
the  meeting  by  the  presiding  officer,  the  mover  may  withdraw 
or  modify  it,  at  his  pleasure. 

Privileged  Motions. — There  are  certain  motions  which 
may  be  made  at  any  time  that  the  mover  can  gain  the  floor ; 
such  are  the  motions  to  refer  to  a  committee,  to  lay  on  the 
table,  to  postpone  to  a  future  time,  fixed  or  indefinite,  and  to 
adjourn.  All  these  motions  may  be  debated  except  the  motion 
to  postpone  indefinitely  and  to  adjourn.  Motions  to  postpone 
or  to  commit  cannot  be  made  a  second  time  at  the  same  meet- 
ing. And  when  a  member  is  speaking,  no  motion  can  be 
made  but  with  his  consent. 

Debate. — When  any  motion  is  before  the  church,  every 
member  has  a  right  to  express  his  \dews  concerning  it.  The 
moderator  is  bound  to  confine  every  speaker  to  the  point 
under  consideration,  and  also  to  protect  him  against  £ill  inter- 
ruption, except  that  of  being  called  to  order  if  he  violate  the 
rule  of  courtesy  or  of  debate ;  but  after  the  matter  of  order 
is  adjusted,  the  speaker  has  the  right  to  go  on  with  the  debate. 

Order  of  Voting. — When  several  amendments  or  propo- 
sitions are  before  the  meeting,  the  order  in  which  they  are 
to  be  acted  upon  is  usually  the  reverse  of  the  order  in  which 
they  were  made.  If  several  sums  are  proposed,  the  largest  is 
to  be  first  put  to  vote  ;  if  several  periods  of  time,  the  longest; 
and  as  to  numbers  generally  the  largest.  When  a  motion  is 
put,  it  should  be  first  clearly  stated  by  the  moderator  or  read 
by  the  clerk. 


94  PARISH    BUSINESS 

Effect  of  Various  Motions. —  An  indefinite  postpone- 
ment defeats  or  suppresses  the  question  under  debate.  A 
motion  to  refer  to  a  committee  postpones  the  subject  until 
the  committee  report.  A  motion  to  lay  on  the  table  means  to 
lay  aside  for  the  present. 

The  Previous  Question  is  a  motion  that  the  main  question 
under  discussion  be  immediately  acted  upon.  If  the  motion 
for  the  previous  question  is  carried  in  the  affirmative,  the 
question  under  discussion  must  be  put  without  change  of  form 
or  further  debate.  If  the  motion  for  the  previous  question  is 
lost,  then  the  consideration  of  the  main  question  under  dis- 
cussion is  still  in  order.  The  previous  question  cannot  be  put 
upon  an  amendment,  or  upon  any  of  the  other  merely  sub- 
sidiary motions,  which  are  used,  like  the  previous  question 
itself,  for  the  suppression  of  original  motions. 

Voting. — There  are  three  ways  of  declaring  the  sense  of 
the  meeting :  1.  By  the  moderator  stating  the  substance  of 
the  proposition,  and  declaring  it  to  be  adopted,  if  no  one 
objects ;  in  this  case,  if  no  one  should  object,  the  proposition 
is  adopted  by  common  consent.  2.  By  the  moderator  putting 
the  question,  and  the  members  in  favor  of  it  responding  aye, 
and  afterward  those  opposed  responding  nay ;  and  thereupon 
the  moderator  declares  the  result ;  but  if  a  member  thinks  the 
moderator  in  error,  or  that  an  accurate  count  would  show  a 
different  result,  he  has  a  right  to  demand  it  immediately,  in 
which  case  the  question  must  be  put  again,  and  the  voters 
carefully  counted.     3.  By  ballot. 

After  the  question  is  put  to  vote  there  can  be  no  debate,  and 
no  new  proposition  made,  until  the  voting  is  finished. 

Reconsiderations. —  After  the  vote  is  taken,  any  member 
who  voted  in  the  majority  may  during  the  same  meeting  move 
a  reconsideration,  which  motion  opens  the  subject  again  for 
debate;  and  if  the  vote  to  reconsider  is  adopted,  the  whole 
matter  stands  just  as  it  did  before  the  reconsidered  vote  was 
taken. 

Committees. —  It  is  the  duty  of  the  moderator  to  appoint 
committees,  unless  the  meeting  do  so  by  its  own  action.  The 
mover  of  a  resolution,  by  virtue  of  which  a  committee  is  to  be 
appointed,  is  entitled,  by  courtesy,  to  be  appointed  chairman 


FINANCIAL    AND    LEGAL  95 

of  such  committee.  The  person  first  named  in  the  enumera- 
tion of  the  persons  appointed  on  a  committee  is  to  be  deemed 
chairman  of  such  committee  ;  but  the  committee  itself  may  elect 
another  chairman. 

Reports  of  Co:MariTTEES. —  When  the  report  of  a  committee 
is  presented,  motions  should  be  made  either  to  accept,  or  to 
accept  and  adopt,  or  to  amend,  or  to  recommit  the  report. 
Upon  a  motion  to  accept  the  report,  it  will  l)e  placed  on  file ; 
upon  a  motion  to  accept  and  adopt  the  report,  it  wiU  become 
the  action  of  the  meeting. 

Appeals. —  All  the  decisions  of  the  presiding  officer  are  sub- 
ject to  revision  by  the  church. 

Adjourned  Meetings  are  deemed  a  continuance  of  the 
original  meeting. 


VI 
PARISH    WAYS    AND    MEANS 

THERE  is  an  impression  among  both  outsiders  and  insiders 
that  the  church  with  all  its  affiliated  benevolent  institu- 
tions is  a  very  expensive  affair  5  that  the  amount  raised  for 
these  objects  is  enormous.  Let  us  look  a  little  into  this 
matter. 

Among  the  nations  England  ranks  first  in  point  of  benefi- 
cence. But  we  find  that  the  yearly  duty  on  imported  tobacco 
alone  paid  to  the  British  Government  is  thirteen  times  as 
much  as  that  collected  for  the  conversion  of  the  world,  and 
the  outgoes  from  consumers  of  inebriating  liquors  eight  hun- 
dred millions,  or  one  hundred  times  as  much. 

In  our  own  country,  the  American  Board  probably  receives 
a  larger  support  from  Congregational  churches  than  any 
other  society  sustained  by  them ;  yet,  were  each  member  to 
pay  half  a  cent  daily,  the  amount  would  be  more  than  double 
the  largest  sum  it  has  ever  received  by  contributions  in  any 
one  year.  AYhat  is  annually  expended  for  tobacco  by  church 
members  would  amply  endow  ten  American  Boards ;  and  the 
annual  cost  to  consumers  of  intoxicating  drinks — seven 
hundred  millions  of  dollars  —  would  cover  the  expenses  of 
fifteen  hundred  such  societies. 

Compare  the  cost  of  our  churches  and  places  of  public 
worship  with  what  it  was  under  the  Jewish  Theocracy,  In 
Massachusetts,  for  example,  we  have,  of  aU  the  different 
denominations,  about  one  minister  to  nine  hundred  persons, 
while  in  Palestine,  covering  about  the  same  area  of  t-erritory, 
there  was  a  priest  to  eighty-six.  These  priests  all  received 
their  support  from  the  people,  and  when  to  this  is  added  the 
building  of  the  temple  and  the  various  synagogues  throughout 
Judea,  with  the  numerous  sacrifices,  we  get  some  idea  of  the 
vast  expense  incurred. 

To  meet  this,  there  was,  first,  the  extensive  system  of  offer- 
ings.    At  the   birth   of    a  child,  at  the   ingathering  of  the 

96 


PARISH    WAYS    AND    MEANS  97 

harvest,  on  recovery  from  sickness,  or  on  the  commission  of 
some  sin,  every  Jew  laid  his  gift  or  his  sacrifice  upon  the  altar. 
In  addition  to  this,  a  tenth  of  each  man's  income  was  required, 
making  the  whole  amount  about  one-fifth.  No  excuse  was 
accepted,  no  plea  was  available.  Whatever  the  circumstances 
the  tithe  was  demanded,  and  false  returns  were  out  of  the  ques- 
tion. Offerings  and  tithes  were  part  and  parcel  of  the  rehgious 
system. 

In  the  primitive  church  the  same  view  prevailed,  nor  is  any 
other  recognized  in  Scripture.  Throughout  PauPs  epistles, 
the  giving  for  chui'ch  purposes  is  treated  as  an  act  of  worship, 
the  Sabbath  being  the  time  appointed  for  the  weekly  offerings. 
The  Bible  affords  no  warrant  for  our  modern  practice  of  dis- 
tinguishing religious  acts  as  sacred  and  secular.  Why,  indeed, 
is  not  the  doUar  rightly  given  as  holy  as  the  prayer  rightly 
offered  ?  The  former,  which  lays  the  ax  at  the  root  of  human 
selfishness,  is  surely  no  less  precious  to  God  than  the  latter, 
which,  it  may  be,  requires  little  or  no  sacrifice.  We  talk  a 
great  deal  about  the  temporalities  of  the  church.  God  forgive 
us  for  a  lapse  in  piety  that  allows  such  an  expression  to  have 
any  significance  !  Let  us  interlink  our  tithes  and  our  devo- 
tions as  did  the  angel  when  he  said  to  Cornelius  :  ^^  Thy  prayers 
and  thine  alms  are  come  up  for  a  memorial  before  God." 

An  error  which  springs  out  of  the  misapprehension  I  am 
considering  is  the  regarding  what  is  appropriate  to  the  sup- 
port of  public  worship  as  a  charity.     Says  one  : 

''  There  are  not  a  few  in  the  community  who  regard  every 
doUar  spent  for  public  worship  as  given  in  pure  benevolence. 
What  a  monstrous  error  this  is  !  The  church  of  Christ  in  any 
sense  a  charity  ?  Never,  thank  God.  Jesus  commands  men  to 
set  about  the  work ;  he  does  not  solicit  subscriptions. 

"The  church  a  charity?  It  is  not  even  a  luxury,  but  a 
prime  necessity  in  every  community  where  it  is  either  pleasant 
or  safe  to  live.  Must  a  city  have  pavements  and  side-walks 
and  streets,  lamps  and  water- works  and  parks  and  horse-rail- 
roads and  libraries  and  museums?  It  can  do  without  the 
whole  of  them  better  than  it  can  do  without  a  church.  Must 
it  have  its  court-houses  and  jails  and  police  officers,  and  bolts 
and  locks  on  the  doors  and  fastenings  to  the  windows,  and 
7 


98  PARISH    BUSINESS 

impenetrable  vaults  in  the  banks  ?  It  would  be  safer  without 
all  of  them  than  without  a  church.  Let  the  church  of  Christ 
in  any  community  exercise  its  full  power,  and  your  court- 
houses would  be  closed,  except  for  the  trial  of  civil  cases 
arising  out  of  misunderstandings  and  not  from  malice  ;  your 
jails  might  be  swept  away,  and  your  policeman  would  be  a 
needless  official.  Even  with  its  hands  tied  and  shorn  of  its 
strength  as  the  church  stands  to-day,  it  exerts  an  influence  for 
morality  and  social  order  which  is  in  advance  of  all  others 
combined. 

'^  Did  you  ever  live  for  days  and  weeks  in  a  community  on 
which  no  such  influence  was  brought  to  bear  ?  —  where  men 
choose  the  open  country,  away  from  tree  and  bush,  for  fear  of 
being  shot  down  for  the  few  shillings  in  their  pocket ;  where 
after  dark  they  dare  not  venture  into  the  streets  of  the  town 
lest  they  should  never  return  ;  where  night  by  night  they  load 
gun  and  pistol;  where  vice  of  every  sort  walks  abroad  in 
shameless  exposure ;  where  might  makes  right,  and  nameless 
squalor  looks  sadly  up  into  the  pitiless  eyes  of  the  tyranny 
that  rides  over  it  rough-shod  ? 

'^  The  church  a  charity !  Let  men  who  hold  to  this  go  and 
unlearn  their  folly  in  lands  where  the  church  is  not ;  or,  better 
and  fairer  demonstration,  let  them  watch  the  setting  np  of 
the  Church  of  Christ  in  the  midst  of  some  mass  of  brutalized 
humanity,  and  watch  the  gracious  transformations  it  effects 
from  barbarism  to  civilization,  from  violence  and  vice  to 
purity  and  good  order  and  security.  We  have  our  tragedies, 
it  is  true,  under  our  Christian  civilization,  but  they  are  the 
exceptions,  not  the  common  law.  Putting  aU  questions  of 
religious  culture  aside,  the  church  is  a  financial  and  social 
necessity.  Tear  down  the  sanctuaries  of  the  city  and  suspend 
public  worship,  and  what  would  f oUow  ?  On  the  ruins  of  the 
churches  would  rise  the  grog-shop  and  the  brothel.  AU 
classes  of  business,  except  those  that  minister  to  vicious  indul- 
gence, would  languish.  Men  would  fortify  their  houses  like 
castles.  Real  estate  would  depreciate.  Insurance  companies 
would  decline  risks  in  such  a  godless  community,  not  from 
piety  but  from  policy.  Unthrift  would  flourish,  life  be  inse- 
cure, wealth  a  hazardous  possession. 


PARISH    WAYS    AND    MEANS  99 

"  The  church  supported  by  charity !  Then  the  taxes  we  pay 
to  support  the  government  are  given  in  charity,  and  our  whole 
array  of  civil  and  legislative  and  judicial  officers  are  pauper 
institutions  supported  by  the  benevolence  of  the  generous 
people. 

"  The  churches  a  charity  !  No,  my  friend.  The  money  you 
spend  for  public  worship  is  just  as  really  spent  upon  yourself 
as  though  you  put  it  into  a  garment  to  cover  you,  or  a  roof  to 
shelter  you.  It  all  goes  to  establish  the  good,  safe  order  of 
society  on  which  we  aU  depend  for  prosperity,  security,  and 
happiness.  It  is  given  to  our  business  as  really  as  if  deposited 
in  the  bank,  and  no  man  who  looks  the  facts  squarely  in  the 
face  dares  assert  to  the  contrary." 

But  look  at  public  worship  as  an  educational  power.  With 
its  grand  text-book,  its  thoroughly  drilled  instructors,  its 
Sunday-school  teachings,  its  music  and  its  prayers,  who  can 
compute  its  influence  on  the  intellectual  development  of  the 
people  ?  It  is  the  highest  part  of  man's  nature  which  it  edu- 
cates, a  part  inadequately  reached  by  all  other  agencies.  If, 
then,  the  money  appropriated  for  the  support  of  public  wor- 
ship is  a  charity,  much  more  is  that  spent  in  the  support  of 
our  schools  and  colleges  a  charity.  Nothing  in  this  depart- 
ment of  human  culture  yields  such  large  returns. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  expenses  of  Congi^egational 
churches  in  New  England  are  larger  than  those  of  any  other 
denomination.  The  average  expense  of  these  churches,  not 
including  what  might  be  considered  the  interest  on  the  first 
cost  of  the  church  building,  is  twelve  hundred  doUars,  the 
average  salary  of  the  minister  being  not  far  from  eight  hun- 
dred dollars.  This  leaves  four  hundred  for  all  other  claims  — 
not  more  than  some  janitors  receive  for  the  care  of  two  or  three 
school-houses.  The  current  expenses  of  a  flourishing  church 
in  one  of  our  smaller  cities,  exclusive  of  the  interest  on  the 
church  building,  is  four  thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  while 
the  cost  of  carrying  on  a  first-class  drug  store  is  twelve 
thousand  doUars,  not  reckoning  the  super\dsion  of  the  firm. 
The  cost  of  a  single  locomotive  would  pay  the  expenses  of  the 
above  church  for  four  years.  The  average  rental  of  the  pews 
is  thirty  doUars  a  year,  or  six  dollars  a  seat — less  than  twelve 


100  PARISH    BUSINESS 

cents  a  Sunday.  Is  not  the  cliiirch  a  cheap  institution? 
Where  can  men  get  so  much  for  so  smaU  a  sum  f 

If  it  were  only  felt  that  a  weU-filled  treasury  is  as  indispen- 
sable to  the  true  prosperity  of  the  church  as  purity  of  doc- 
trine ;  that  money  is  as  important  as  prayer;  and  if  what  men 
consecrate  to  the  cause  were  more  nearly  proportioned  to  what 
they  expend  for  their  own  pleasure,  wherever  else  there  might 
be  a  falling  off,  there  certainly  would  be  none  here.  A  church 
debt  would  be  out  of  the  question.  Instead  of  scrimping  here 
and  there  and  everywhere,  we  should  find  broad  views  and 
generous  expenditures. 

Among  the  plans  for  meeting  church  expenses,  the  following 
has  been  named  as  successful :  "  Each  member  of  the  church 
presents  the  trustees  with  a  statement  of  the  cash  value  of  his 
property,  after  deducting  all  debts.  After  obtaining  subscrip- 
tions from  aU  others  not  belonging  to  the  church,  who  yet  are 
willing  to  assist  in  maintaining  it,  the  trustees  assess  the  bal- 
ance of  the  expenses  for  the  year  upon  the  church  members, 
according  to  the  valuation  reported  by  each.  On  this  plan 
there  can  be  no  deficiency.  In  its  working  it  is  found  tliat 
some,  whose  taxes  would  be  very  small,  voluntarily  pledge 
themselves  to  give  larger  sums." 

Another  mode  warmly  advocated  is  that  by  free  seats,  each 
person  pacing  according  to  his  own  convictions  of  duty.  The 
church  doors  are  thus  thrown  wide  open,  and  all  the  pews  are 
free,  though  according  to  the  usual  workings  of  the  system 
each  f amity  falls  into  a  regular  sitting-place  as  much  as  in  the 
taxing  system,  the  difference  being  that  every  man  is  his  own 
assessor.  Several  statements  from  different  sources  will  show 
something  of  the  feeling  as  to  this  system. 

''I  am  more  and  more  growing  into  the  conviction  that  our  present 
mode  of  pew-renting  in  the  churches  should  be  abolished.  This  thing  of 
purchasing  seats  in  the  house  of  God  as  in  a  theater,  and  taking  posses- 
sion of  them  to  the  exclusion  of  the  outside  unbelieving  world,  does  not 
appear  to  me  to  be  right." 

*'As  a  workingman,  I  would  say  that  the  feeling  is  painfully  prevalent 
among  us  that  our  churches  are  generally  '  close  corporations.'  And  I 
know  that  the  free  church  will  attract  many  who  now  never  attend, 
many  of  whom  scoff  at  Christian  hypocrisy  and  cant.  Wlienwe  as  Christ's 
disciples  are  willing  to  deny  ourselves,  as  he  taught,  we  shall  not  find  it 
hard  to  sacrifice  our  own  seats  if  thereby  some  may  be  saved." 


PARISH    WAYS    AND    MEANS  101 

"The  exclusive  system  of  pew-renting  has  been  tried  sufaciently  to 
prove  that  it  fails  to  reach  the  masses.  The  free  system,  which  respects 
no  man's  person,  is  being  tried  with  increasing  success.  Some  of  our  best 
and  oldest  pastors  confess  with  grief  that  their  life-work  has  been  circum- 
scribed and  impaired  by  this  '  unseriptural  system,'  and  that  if  they  were 
to  begin  their  work  again,  they  would  never  preach  in  a  house  with  rented 
pews.  Even  when  all  our  pews  are  rented  we  have  our  churches  but  half 
full.  We  may  cry  aloud  and  ring  our  bells  till  the  judgment  day,  but  we 
can  never  call  the  masses  into  rented  pews  to  hear  the  Gospel.  Those 
who  need  it  most  tvant  it  least,  and  they  are  kept  from  hearing  it  by  the 
most  tri\ial  causes.  All  hindrances,  so  far  as  possible,  should  be  removed, 
and  of  these  pew-renting  is  among  the  chief.  " 

"  You  are  not  ready  to  become  free  until  you  have  secured  the  intelli- 
gent adoption  of  the  general  plan  by  the  pastor  and  parish.  Quietly 
introduce  the  idea,  then  wait.  Let  it  have  time  to  turn  itself  over  in  the 
most  cautious,  the  slowest  and  dullest  minds,  until  it  has  been  viewed  in 
every  light.  You  may  be  assured  of  a  favorable  vote  to-day.  Don't  press 
a  vote.  A  few  years  ago  the  pastor  of  a  thrifty  church  in  this  common- 
wealth preached  a  sermon  in  favor  of  free  sittings.  The  idea  was  new. 
It  took.  The  annual  meeting  was  held  soon  afterward.  A  motion  was 
then  made  that  the  seats  in  the  meeting-house  be  made  free.  It  was 
easily  carried.  Some  thought  the  arrangement  an  economical  one,  and 
thus  favored  it.  Some  expected  to  see  the  irreligious  crowd  in  on  the 
Sabbath  and  fill  the  house.  Some  had  not  considered  sufficiently  that 
they  could  no  longer  retain  their  old  seats,  where  their  fine  carpeting  and 
soft  hassocks  were  the  handsome  badges  of  proprietorship.  Dissatisfac- 
tion soon  appeared.    It  increased.     At  the  close  of  a  year  the  plan  was 

given  up."  . 

"I  really  beHeve  that  the  great  cause  of  much  ministerial  suffering 
is  due,  not  so  much  to  the  want  of  right  feeling  in  church  members, 
as  to  the  want  of  system  in  regard  to  church  revenues;  and  that 
the  only  remedy  is  a  weekly  offering  as  a  part  of  public  worship,  hav- 
ing the  pews  all  free  — no  merchandise  being  sold  or  let  in  the  house 
of  God." 

'<  What  is  in  the  future  we  cannot  tell.  But  when  our  most  wealthy 
people  give  up  the  best  pews  in  the  house,  which  they  have  held  for  years, 
and  then  pledge  more  than  they  have  ever  paid  before,  and  take  their  risk 
to  get  a  seat  with  the  rest,  for  the  sake  of  having  the  gospel  preached  to 
the  masses,  it  is  a  very  strong  argument  that  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ 
has  done  them  good.  It  cannot  fail  to  have  a  good  influence,  and  with 
God's  blessing  may  bring  some  erring  ones  into  the  fold  of  Christ,  which 
will  amply  pay  for  the  sacrifice  made." 

"The  pledge  and  collection  system,  which  prevails  in  the  most  success- 
ful free  churches,  does  not  materially  impair  their  freedom.  It  simply 
modifies  it.  The  plan  adopted  should  be  as  simple  as  possible,  but  a  plan 
we  must  have.  A  good  working  plan  involves  these  elements,  viz. :  yearly 
pledges,  weekly  offerings,  and  box  collections.  This,  at  least,  is  the 
judgment  of  the  writer." 


102  PARISH    BUSINESS 

"In  our  church  we  have  unanimity,  consecration,  system.  They  give 
us  success.  Without  them  we  could  not  sustain  the  freedom  of  our  enter- 
prise for  six  months." 

From  a  thriving  Western  town,  a  pastor  writes  : 

"Previous  to  my  coming  here  the  pews  had  been  sold  at  auction  the 
first  of  January.  Some  took  pews  who  never  paid  for  them.  The  number 
defraying  the  expenses  of  the  church  was  about  sixty.  Every  year  there 
was  a  deficiency  which  somebody  had  to  make  up.  In  order  to  raise  the 
amount,  imaginary  values  had  to  be  put  upon  certain  pews  actually  worth 
no  more  than  others,  but  supposed  to  be  for  the  purpose  of  permitting  those 
able  and  willing  to  pay  high  prices.  Other  pews,  for  a  similar  reason, 
were  put  at  a  very  low  price.  The  result  was  natural.  Here  we  had  the 
rich  man's  aisle ;  there,  the  poor  man's  corner.  Class  distinctions  were 
thus  created  in  the  house  of  God,  just  the  last  place  where  such  things 
should  be  tolerated. 

"In  January  (1873)  we  adopted  the  free-church  system,  asking  for 
pledges  from  men,  women,  and  children.  We  now  have,  instead  of  sixty, 
two  hundred  and  ten  regular  contributors.  Think  of  the  moral  influence 
on  the  children  who,  every  Sunday,  give  their  dimes  or  nickels  for  the 
support  of  public  worship. 

"In  all  the  history  of  this  church  —  forty  years  —  it  never  knew  a  year 
in  which  there  was  not  a  financial  deficiency.  At  the  close  of  the  first 
quarter  of  our  experiment,  we  had  a  surplus  of  thirty  dollars  over  all 
expenses.  Our  collection  has  gradually  increased  every  month,  and  though 
our  expenses  are  a  thousand  dollars  more  than  formerly,  instead  of  a 
deficiency  we  shall  have  a  surplus." 

The  following  paragraph  gives  confirmatory  evidence  from 
other  churches : 

"  The  present  condition  of  the  seven  parishes  in  Hartford,  Conn.,  which 
are  connected  with  the  Episcopal  church  in  that  place,  is  a  singular  illus- 
tration of  the  changes  which  may  be  wrought  in  a  decade  in  parochial 
management.  Ten  years  ago,  Christ  Church,  the  mother  parish,  was 
moribund  with  old  fogyism,  and  spent  almost  as  much  money  in  Sunday 
opera  music  as  it  contributed  to  the  rector's  salary.  It  was  no  place  for 
a  poor  man  unless  he  was  a  recipient  of  charity.  St.  John's  was  respect- 
able, if  not  aristocratic,  and  had  ideas  of  usefulness  not  much  better  than 
those  of  Christ  Church.  The  Church  of  the  Incarnation  was  a  struggling 
mission  paying  a  pittance  to  a  wealthy  rector.  Trinity  Church  was  trying 
to  rise  to  an  ideal  position.  The  Church  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  under  the 
patronage  of  Mr.  Colt,  had  free  sittings.  St.  Thomas's  Church,  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  city,  had  built  beyond  its  means,  and  was  temporarily 
bankrupt.  One  after  another  the  newer  churches  adopted  the  free-seat 
system,  with  a  pledge  or  voluntary  offering  as  its  means  of  support,  and 
finally  Christ  Church,  the  spiritual  parent  of  them  all,  forsook  the  pew  sys- 


PARISH    WAYS    AND    MEANS  103 

tern  and  the  abominations  which  frequently  go  with  it,  and  has  found  that 
under  the  system  of  free  sittings  and  volunteer  offerings,  the  expenses  of 
the  parish  are  more  readily  met,  the  parish  enthusiasm  more  easily  main- 
tained, and  the  whole  work  of  a  Christian  congregation  much  better  done. 
There  could  scarcely  be  a  greater  change  in  a  city  of  a  hundred  thousand 
people  than  has  thus  been  wrought  within  the  limits  of  the  parishes  of  a 
single  denomination,  and  the  change  is  notable  as  a  change  in  the  right 
direction.  It  is  understood  that,  by  working  upon  the  free-church  basis, 
all  of  these  parishes  are  in  a  more  prosperous  condition  than  they  ever 
were  before." 

A  Roman  CathoHc  pastor  of  a  flourishing  church  writes  : 

"Entrance  to  the  church  is  absolutely  free  to  all.  Those  who  are 
unable  to  pay  pew-rent  have  seats  appointed  for  them,  and  nobody  but 
the  trustees  know  whether  they  pay  or  not.  Those  who  do  not  wish  to 
rent  seats  may  put  into  the  plate  as  it  passes  around  whatever  they  wish, 
or  nothing,  if  that  suits  them  better." 

Free  seats  and  weekly  contributions  are  old  New  England 
institutions.  Governor  Hutchinson,  after  1760,  wrote  that  the 
ministers  of  the  several  churches  in  the  town  of  Boston  have 
ever  been  supported  by  a  free  weekly  contribution  j  and 
John  Cotton,  who  left  a  munificent  preferment  in  the  old 
country,  maintained  that  this  was  the  apostoHc  method  of 
supporting  religious  institutions. 

One  who  has  had  great  success  in  this  free-seat  experiment 
teUs  us  that  ^'  the  book-keeping  is  very  simple.  A  folio  is 
ruled  on  the  left  for  the  names  of  weekly  contributors,  then  a 
little  square  for  each  Sunday  in  the  year.  Each  week  the 
name  is  checked  if  the  contribution  is  received.  At  the  end 
of  each  quarter  a  circular  is  sent  to  each  one  whose  offerings 
have  fallen  behind,  the  amount  of  the  delinquency  being 
stated.^' 

But  even  if  well  started,  the  system  will  not  run  of  itself. 
A  number  of  churches  have  been  successful  in  the  beginning, 
while,  after  a  time,  the  plan  has  failed  from  lack  of  an  occa- 
sional fresh  impetus.  Though  it  may  bear  more  abundant 
fruit  than  the  old  method,  it  requires  far  more  labor  on  the 
part  of  ministers. 

The  chief  features  of  this  method,  and  also  of  the  common 
one  of  pew-rentals,  have  been  tersely  set  forth  by  an  experi- 
enced clergyman : 


104  PARISH    BUSINESS 

''The  renting  of  pews  gives  the  rich  an  advantage  over  the  poor,  in 
respect  of  locality ; 

"It  draws  a  line  of  distinction  between  rich  and  poor  in  the  place  from 
which  most  of  all  it  should  be  excluded; 

"It  thus  deprives  the  poor  of  the  Gospel,  actually  if  not  necessarily ; 

"  It  teaches  those  who  do  pay  rents  to  regard  the  money  thus  employed, 
not  as  an  offering  to  God,  a  part  of  worship  as  really  as  prayer,  but  a  worldly 
secular  transaction  which  they  may  discontinue  at  their  option  without 
incurring  guilt ; 

' '  Pew-rentals  make  only  heads  of  families  responsible  for,  and  inter- 
ested in,  the  support  of  the  church ;  and  thus  the  children  are  deprived 
of  their  right  to  aid  the  Christian  work,  according  to  their  ability. 

"On  the  other  hand,  the  free-seat,  secret-envelope  system  realizes 
Christ's  ideal  of  a  universal  Christian  brotherhood ; 

''Gives  to  each  one  the  same  title  to  all  the  rights  and  privileges  in  the 
house  of  God ; 

"Removes  from  the  church  the  spirit  of  exclusiveness,  breaks  up 
cliques,  banishes  clannishness ; 

"  Makes  all  the  money  given  a  part  of  worship,  an  expression  of  love 
to  God,  not  money  paid  for  a  pew,  a  choir,  a  minister ; 

"Brings  the  church  to  the  masses ; 

"Cultivates  the  habit  of  systematic  benevolence ; 

"Makes  each  one,  old  and  young,  personally  responsible  ; 

"Keeps  the  church  in  the  memory  of  some  who  are  in  danger  of  for- 
getting it ; 

"  Secures  a  greater  regularity  in  church  attendance  ; 

"  Gives  the  transient  worshiper  an  opportunity  to  express  his  thanks- 
giving to  God  and  his  interest  in  the  Gospel  to  which  he  listens." 

Yet  with  aU.  these  arguments  in  its  favor,  it  may  not  be  the 
best  system  for  every  place.  There  are  conscientious  pastors 
and  churches  that  decidedly  prefer  pew-rentals.  In  such  cases, 
if  the  aristocratic,  exclusive  spirit  so  out  of  character  with 
God's  house  is  effectually  banished,  and  a  sympathetic,  hearty 
church  hospitality  be  extended  to  all  comers,  especially  to 
the  poor,  if  the  masses  are  reached  and  held,  one  of  the 
present  objections  to  this  system  will  be  removed.  This  being 
settled,  the  main  point  is  that  people  should  be  as  ready,  to 
say  the  least,  to  pay  for  their  church  privileges  as  for  any 
others.  Where  there  is  a  lack  here,  they  should  be  so  trained 
that  they  wiU  come  up  squarely  to  the  Christian  requirements. 


Ill 

PAEISH    BUILDINGS 


THE    CHURCH:    FEATURES    AND   MATERIALS 


S  tlie  liome  of  the  oldest,  the  most  sacred, 
and,  in  its  essential  features,  the  most  un- 
changing of  all  human  institutions,  no 
argument  is  needed  to  prove  that  churches 
ought  in  their  construction  to  be  models  of 
thoroughness  and  durability.  Hospitals 
for  the  sick  should  be  destroyed  annually; 
every  manufacturer  in  this  inventive  age  expects  his  mill  to  be 
radically  changed,  if  not  wholly  rebuilt,  before  it  is  a  half- 
century  old;  educational  buildings  become  antiquated,  the 
lavish  expenditure  bestowed  upon  them  diminishing  rather 
than  increasing  their  usefulness  ;  and  while  an  old  house  that 
has  been  a  blessed  home  for  centuries,  perhaps,  is  often  delight- 
ful to  see  and  always  to  be  respected,  practical  housekeepers 
prefer  modern  methods,  modern  styles,  and  modem  comforts 
to  antiquated  dignity  and  sentimental  associations.  But  divine 
worship,  the  essential  purpose  for  which  churches  are  built,  is 
the  same  to-day  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  Paul  and  of  Abraham, 
of  Adam  and  of  the  unnumbered  millions — idolatrous  heathens, 
we  call  them  —  that  preceded  him.  Then  as  now  men  gathered 
themselves  together  to  declare  their  reverence  for  the  infinite 
power  that  made  and  rules  the  universe.  The  spirit  of  wor- 
ship has  been  the  same  through  the  long  ages,  and  that  external 
methods  have  changed  but  gradually  is  shown  by  the  ease  and 
avidity  with  which  the  structures  prepared  for  their  own  use 

105 


106  PARISH    BUILDINGS 

by  the  earlier  generations  of  men  have  been  appropriated  by 
their  successors  who  believed  that  theirs  was  the  one  true 
worship  and  everything  else  was  vain  idolatry. 

Churches  should  be  solid,  genuine,  permanent.  Now  the  first 
thing  necessary  for  permanence  in  a  church,  or  in  any  thing- 
else,  is  a  good  foundation.  It  must  be  built  upon  a  rock.  The 
rock  may  be  crushed,  sand  or  gravel,  but  it  must  be  unmistak- 
ably rock.  Fresh-water  bog  will  not  answer,  nor  salt  marsh. 
Wooden  piles  of  the  most  approved  pattern  and  lasting  stock 
are  an  unworthy  support  for  a  superstructure  of  massive 
masonry.  We  have  no  sure  evidence  that  they  will  uphold  it, 
while  money  enough  to  pay  for  it  could  be  earned  by  honest 
industry. 

Having  this  solid  foundation,  nothing  is  entirely  satisfac- 
tory for  the  building  itself  but  the  most  durable  materials. 
In  these  we  are  embarrassingly  rich.  Thanks  to  the  mar- 
velously  cheap  transportation  of  modern  times,  the  numer- 
ous varieties  of  building-stones  scattered  over  the  country, 
from  the  moss-covered  bowlders  in  the  pastures  to  the  varie- 
gated and  polished  marbles  from  the  quarries,  are  available 
everywhere.  Bricks  abound  of  many  hues,  venerable  and 
everlasting  as  granite  itself ;  there  is  no  apparent  limit  to  the 
use  of  terra  cotta,  glazed  and  unglazed ;  iron  and  other  metals 
lend  themselves  readily  to  building  construction,  and  certain 
cements  are  of  great  service.  Decidedly  it  is  not  for  want  of 
abundant  resources  that  our  buildings  are  poor  and  perishable. 

It  is  a  lasting  pity  that  our  laboriously  pious  and  piously 
laborious  New  England  ancestors  did  not  build  their  houses 
and  churches  of  stone  and  their  fences  of  wood,  instead  of  the 
reverse,  provided,  of  course,  the  buildings  had  been  in  their  way 
as  well  constructed  as  the  fences  were.  Had  they  done  so,  their 
descendants  would  not  now  be  willing,  as  they  often  are,  to  seU 
the  same  farms — houses,  lands,  fences  and  aU — for  half  of  what 
the  fences  cost.  Perhaps  it  was  a  part  of  theii-  nature  to  shut 
themselves  in  and  the  rest  of  the  world  out  by  barriers  that  came 
to  be  considered  of  more  value  than  what  the  barriers  inclosed. 

At  all  events,  the  fashion  was  set,  and  the  impression  still 
prevails  that  bricks  and  stone  are  unsuitable  for  building 
churches,  unless  the  worldly  wealth  to  be  invested  is  ample, 


THE    CHURCH:    FEATURES    AND    MATERIALS    107 

not  merely  for  necessities,  but  for  what,  in  other  directions, 
would  be  reckoned  luxuries.  This  is  true  to  a  limited  extent 
only,  for  bricks  and  stone  may  be  so  employed  that  their  cost 
will  be  but  a  smaU  percentage  above  that  of  well-constructed 
wooden  walls.  Timidity,  ignorance,  and  vanity  usually  stand 
in  the  way  of  this  simple  and  natural  use  of  the  more  lasting 
materials.  And  yet  dignity  and  long  service  are  to  be  found 
in  wood.  If  protected  from  dampness,  dry-rot,  and  the  attri- 
tion of  the  weather  and  other  external  influences,  no  one  knows 
how  many  thousand  years  it  wiU  endure.  It  may,  indeed,  be 
consumed  by  fire,  but  is  not  as  liable  to  accidental  burning  as 
it  appears  to  be,  unless  put  together  in  the  very  manner  most 
favorable  to  its  swift  and  uncontrollable  combustion.  Unfor- 
tunately, this  is  precisely  the  arrangement  usually  adopted 
instead  of  a  "slow-burning''  construction,  which  is  always 
practicable,  scarcely  more  expensive  than  the  ordinary  modes, 
and  far  more  beautiful  in  appearance.  The  degree  of  folly 
and  deceit  that  enter  into  the  composition  of  wooden  churches, 
and,  it  may  be  said  of  most  cases,  into  the  wooden  part  of  all 
churches,  spires,  roof -trusses,  pinnacles  and  window-frames,  is 
simply  appalling.  All  things  work  together  for  good  for  them 
that  love  honesty  in  building.  Straightforward  truthfulness 
in  construction  is  more  safe,  more  economical,  more  durable, 
and  vastly  more  beautiful  than  any  possible  form  of  architect- 
ural hypocrisy,  whether  the  hypocrisy  consists  in  barefaced 
deception  or  in  the  introduction  of  members  that  are  genuine 
in  themselves  but  useless  on  account  of  their  false  position. 

With  reasonable  care  ia  building  the  wooden  part  of  a 
church,  whether  that  includes  the  entire  structure,  or  only  the 
floors,  roof,  or  spire,  there  is  little  danger  to  be  feared  from 
terrestrial  fires.  Lightning  and  incendiaries  belong  to  other 
realms.  Even  for  wooden  buildings  as  commonly  constructed, 
dampness  and  stagnant  air  are  foes  as  destructive  as  fire,  and 
far  more  insidious.  A  wet  cellar  is  an  abomination  j  doubly 
abominable  when  the  air  is  drawn  directly  from  it  to  feed  the 
furnaces.  Even  in  dry  places  there  is  some  moisture  constantly 
rising  from  the  earth  under  a  large  building,  and  whatever  open 
space  there  may  be  below  the  first  floor  should  be  thoroughly 
ventilated.     The  surface  of  the  ground  beneath  the  building 


108  PARISH    BUILDINGS 

should  be  paved  with  stones,  bricks,  or  concrete,  and  covered 
with  a  coat  of  asphaltiim,  which  is  more  nearly  impervious  to 
air  and  moisture  than  any  other  available  material.  This 
should  also  extend  through  the  outside  waUs  above  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground,  to  prevent  the  dampness  of  the  earth  from 
rising  by  capillary  attraction.  To  erect  a  wooden  building 
upon  a  stone  or  brick  foundation,  no  matter  how  solid  it  may 
be,  and  leave  the  main  sills  and  floor-beams  in  such  a  situation 
that  they  will  inevitably  and  speedily  decay  is  worse  than  waste- 
ful ;  it  is  stupid.  But  neither  utility  nor  economy  can  bring 
any  strong  arguments  in  favor  of  wooden  churches,  and  from 
other  stand-points  there  is  stiU  less  to  be  said  in  their  favor. 


II 

STYLE    OF    THE    BUILDING 

IT  appears  to  be  a  natural  step  from  material  to  style, 
because  constructive  shapes  appropriate  in  wood,  for 
instance,  are  clearly  unsuitable  for  stone,  and  are,  therefore, 
incurably  ugly.  The  converse  is  equally  true ;  yet  the  distin- 
guishing glory  of  the  greater  part  of  our  ecclesiastical  wooden 
architecture  lies  in  its  shallow  and  unmeaning  but  pretentious 
imitation  of  designs  that  have  no  structural  merit  or  beauty 
of  form  unless  they  are  executed  in  stone.  To  say  that  this  is 
atrocious  vanity  is  as  trite  as  to  affirm  that  it  is  wrong  to  teU 
lies.  The  righteous  use  of  material  is,  in  fact,  a  question  of 
morals  rather  than  of  taste.  The  appropriate  style  for  a 
church  or  any  other  building,  whatever  its  material,  is  that 
which  most  clearly  and  earnestly  expresses  the  purpose  for 
which  it  is  erected.  Because  we  do  not  act  upon  this  self- 
evident  principle,  our  architectural  progTCss  is  slow,  and  our 
architectural  failures,  both  sacred  and  secular,  are  many. 

It  is  evident,  then,  that  the  structure  wliich  is  the  outgrowth 
of  the  spii"it  of  divine  worship  should  by  its  visible  form 
excite  our  reverent  admiration  and  delight.  As  far  as  such 
qualities  can  be  ascribed  to  inanimate  things,  it  should  always 
be  peaceful,  harmonious,  dignified,  and  gi-acious  —  as  widely 
removed  on  the  one  hand  from  cold  solemnity  and  forbidding 
gloom  as  it  is  from  vain  and  brilliant  display  on  the  other ; 
but  to  fix  a  boundary  that  will  include  the  cheerful  grace  and 
brightness  that  are  appropriate  and  desii*able  in  a  house  of 
worship,  and  shut  out  the  ostentation  of  wealth  and  artistic 
fancy  that  often  take  possession  of  the  sacred  edifice,  is  as 
difficult  as  drawing  the  Hue  between  manfully  standing  up 
for  our  own  rights  and  selfishly  trenching  on  the  rights  of 
others. 

To  the  question  how  this  appropriate  and  dignified  style  is 
to  be  secured  the  common  answer  would  be,  by  following  the 
best  examples  of  existing  church  architecture,  which  by  their 


110  PARISH    BUILDINGS 

inlierent  chai-acter  as  well  as  by  long  and  hallowed  associa- 
tions excite  profound  and  reverent  emotions.  How  far  it  is 
well  to  deviate  from  these  honored  examples  in  adapting  our 
work  to  our  circumstances  and  what  we  call  our  practical 
needs  will  always  be  an  open  question ;  for  until  all  men  are 
cast  in  one  mold,  we  shall  have  a  conservative  and  a  progi-es- 
sive  element  in  ecclesiastical  architecture  as  well  as  in  theology 
itself.  Here  and  there  among  the  progressives  may  be  found 
a  reformer  of  unreasoning  faith  and  courage  who  is  ready  to 
bury  the  dead  past  forever,  and,  despising  the  things  that  are 
behind,  press  forward  to  an  architectural  dispensation  entirely 
new.  The  most  of  us  are  willing  to  accept  and  adopt  from 
the  past  whatever  is  available  for  our  purposes ;  not  that  we 
may  become  its  servants,  or  servile  imitators,  but  that  it  may 
serve  us. 

Without  doubt,  the  grandest  examples  of  architecture  which 
the  world  has  ever  seen  are  the  structures  that  have  been  con- 
sidered sacred  by  those  who  erected  them,  from  the  earliest 
pagan  temples  down  through  the  long,  long  ages  to  the  latest 
Christian  sanctuary.  They  are  of  necessity  the  best,  for  they 
called  into  action  the  noblest  powers  of  their  builders  and 
expressed  their  highest  aspirations.  It  can  hardly  be  doubted 
that  the  pitiful  failures  in  much  of  our  modern  church  build- 
ing may  be  justly  ascribed  to  a  confusion  of  ideas  as  to  the 
real  purpose  of  the  church  and  a  practical  infidelity  concern- 
ing its  character  and  mission. 

Even  when  the  faith  is  clear  and  the  purpose  strong,  there 
are  two  very  different  points  of  view.  If  the  church  is  simply 
a  place  in  which  to  be  good,  where  we  are  to  receive  spiritual 
nourishment  directly  from  heaven  or  through  a  heaven- 
appointed  minister,  a  haven  of  rest  and  peace,  a  harbor  of 
refuge  from  the  ills  and  dangers  that  beset  us  in  the  outside 
world,  to  which  at  stated  intervals  we  resort  for  refreshment 
and  repose,  then  it  is  easy  to  build  in  accordance  with  that 
lofty  purpose.  If  it  is  a  luminous  center  of  a  beneficent 
activity,  from  which  not  alone  gospel  truth,  but  helpful  and 
elevating  influences  of  all  kinds  are  to  be  dispensed  in  the 
most  direct  and  efficient  manner  possible,  this,  too,  is  a  purpose 
for  which  it  need  not  be  difficult  to  plan  wisely  and  appropri- 


STYLE    OF    THE    BUILDING  111 

ately.  To  combine  suitable  provision  for  serving  in  tbe  most 
effective  manner  these  two  widely  differing  but  not  antago- 
nistic purposes  is  a  problem  whicli  the  earlier  architects  had 
apparently  no  occasion  to  solve. 

Yet,  surely,  it  is  not  impossible  to  build  a  church  that  shall 
be  in  the  best  sense  thoroughly  ecclesiastical  in  its  general 
form  and  in  its  special  detail  and  at  the  same  time  faithfully 
adapted  to  its  legitimate  modern  uses,  which  are  by  no  means 
identical  with  those  of  the  early  life  of  Christianity,  when  the 
most  of  the  buildings  from  which  we  are  expected  to  draw  our 
best  architectural  instruction  and  inspiration  were  designed. 


Ill 

THE    INTERIOR 

FOR  obvious  reasons  the  chief  difficulty  in  the  modern  prob- 
lem lies  in  the  interior.  The  auditorium  must  always  be 
solemn,  dignified,  impressive  ;  with  grandeur  and  magnificence 
added  if  they  are  within  our  reach.  At  the  same  time  it  must 
be  cheerful  and  warm  ;  fresh  as  to  its  atmosphere,  pure  and 
clean.  The  minister  must  be  able  to  see  each  member  of  his 
congregation  without  peering  around  posts  and  otherwise  tax- 
ing his  vision,  and  the  congregation  must  not  be  driven  into 
an  un sanctified  condition  of  weariness  and  vexation  by  pain- 
ful efforts  to  see  and  hear  the  minister.  There  are  plenty  of 
good  people  in  the  world,  if  not  of  it,  who  appear  to  think 
that  the  sun  ought  not  to  shine  on  their  devotions ;  that 
spiritual  emotions  are  most  active  and  profound  when  the 
shadows  are  deep  and  the  lights  are  dim.  Perhaps  this  is  true ; 
it  is  what  the  modern  miracle-workers  claim.  But  it  should 
not  be  forgotten  that  our  perceptions,  physical,  mental,  and 
moral,  are  most  easily  led  astray  in  the  drowsiness,  that  is 
sometimes  honestly  mistaken  for  devoutness,  and  is  apt  to  be 
induced  by  darkness.  To  avoid  this  danger  the  auditorium 
should  be  light.  It  should  likewise  be  of  such  shape  that  the 
congregation  when  seated  may  be  as  compact  as  possible.  The 
most  remote  listeners  should  not  be  farther  from  the  pulpit 
than  the  width  of  the  main  body  of  the  church,  and  the  nearer 
the  body  of  the  seats  approaches  the  form  of  a  sector  of  not 
more  than  seventy-five  degrees,  the  pulpit  being  the  center, 
the  more  successful  will  be  the  gospel  dispensation.  Within 
this  area  unoccupied  parks  and  boulevards  should  be  avoided. 
Whatever  the  pastor  may  have  reason  to  expect  as  to  the  final 
dispersion  of  his  flock,  he  will  not  wish  to  see  a  great  gulf 
prematurely  fixed  between  those  on  his  right  and  those  on  his 
left,  in  the  shape  of  a  broad,  vacant  aisle  stretching  away  in 
front  of  the  altar  even  to  the  uttermost  end  of  the  nave,  which 
compels  him  to  look  two  ways  on  Sunday  and  address  the 
divided  halves  of  his  congregation  alternately. 

112 


THE    INTERIOR  113 

Remote  and  apparently  inaccessible  galleries,  tempting 
haunts  for  scoffers  and  the  disorderly,  are  not  desirable,  though 
a  graceful  extension  of  the  main  body  of  the  seats  into  wide, 
spreading,  elevated  wings  is  necessary  to  bring  a  large  num- 
ber of  people  into  pleasant  auditory  relations  with  the  speaker. 

As  to  the  height,  position,  and  style  of  the  pulpit,  desk, 
table,  or  platform,  these  things  should  be  left,  within  certain 
limits,  to  the  personal  taste  and  feeling  of  him  who  is  to 
occupy  them.  If  he  likes  to  make  an  elevated  and  ornamental 
appearance,  if  he  wishes  to  impress  his  hearers  by  the  height 
from  which  he  condescends  to  address  them  and  the  magnifi- 
cence of  his  sacerdotal  robes  and  ecclesiastical  equipment,  he 
wiU  incline  to  a  high  perch  and  a  broad  arena  of  velvet  carpet 
and  other  decorative  furnishings  between  himself  and  the 
front  ranks  of  his  people.  If  he  strives,  rather,  for  the 
closest  personal  sympathy  with  those  whom  he  would  instruct 
and  lead,  he  will  prefer  a  low,  broad  platform,  and  to  take  his 
stand  so  near  as  to  seem  to  be  almost  in  the  very  midst  of 
his  congregation. 

Doubtless  there  will  always  be  a  difference  of  opinion  and  of 
practice  in  these  non-essentials,  at  least  so  long  as  there  are 
ministers  who  feel  the  need  of  external  aids  and  specially 
ecclesiastical  surroundings  in  order  to  enter  heartily  into  the 
spirit  of  their  sacred  duties,  and  as  long  as  there  are  devout 
people  who  would  scarcely  recognize  or  enjoy  a  divine  minis- 
tration or  utterance  unless  it  came  to  them  in  familiar  guise, 
and  by  the  channels  through  which  they  are  accustomed  to 
receive  their  spiritual  food. 

In  the  arrangement  of  the  choir  and  organ  there  will  be  a 
similar  diversity  of  opinion.  Churches  have  been  rent  in 
twain,  and  the  Gospel  banner  trailed  in  the  dust,  time  and 
again  on  account  of  the  discords  that  have  been  struck  in  the 
very  act  of  singing  God's  praises.  Shall  the  members  of  the 
congregation  whose  hearts  and  voices  are  as  tuneful  as  David's 
harp  of  solemn  sound  keep  silence  while  incomprehensible 
music  is  performed  by  an  invisible  choir  ?  Or  shall  the  holy 
service  of  song  be  made  a  confusion  of  unholy  sounds  by  the 
zealous  outpouring  of  the  untrained  but  sonorous  voices  that 
are  so  ready  to  be  lifted  up  and  so  unwiUing  to  be  put  down  ? 


114  PARISH    BUILDINGS 

If  the  choir  alone  is  to  be  heard,  shall  it  also  be  seen  ?  Devout 
and  sensitive  persons  who  close  their  eyes  in  ecstasy,  and  in 
order  that  the  sense  of  hearing  may  be  all  the  more  keen  and 
deUghtfnl,  say  no.  They  would  have  the  choir  above,  behind 
and  out  of  sight,  that  they  may  be  sensible  only  of  the  rich 
harmony  that  helps  to  raise  their  thoughts  in  adoration.  To 
see  these  singers  is  to  divert  their  minds,  and  bring  them  at 
once  into  a  vain  and  trifling  mood.  Others  do  not  and  can 
not  thoroughly  feel  the  music  even  of  a  brass  band,  unless 
they  can  see  the  swelling  cheeks  of  the  players.  Especially  is 
devotional  music  lost  upon  them  if  they  cannot  distinctly 
hear  and  understand  the  words,  an  auditory  success  not  often 
achieved  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances.  Such 
differences  of  opinion  are  radical,  and  will  never  be  wholly 
removed.  But  there  are  plain  and  potent  reasons  why  the 
choir,  if  there  is  one,  should  be  near  the  minister.  He  must 
be  not  only  in  close  sympathy  but  in  close  and  constant  com- 
munication with  them  during  the  devotional  exercises  in 
which  they  participate.  He  might,  indeed,  have  a  speaking- 
tube  to  the  opposite  end  of  the  church,  or  a  system  of  signals, 
flags,  or  electric  lights,  by  the  aid  of  which  he  could  secure 
their  prompt  and  intelligent  cooperation.  It  is  much  simpler 
to  give  them  a  position  near  him  j  and  considering  how 
extremely  awkward  it  is  for  those  who  wish  to  face  the  music 
to  turn  around  in  their  seats  to  do  so  if  the  singers  are  behind 
them,  and  how  easily  those  who  do  not  wish  to  see  them  can 
bow  their  heads  or  close  their  eyes,  the  most  Christian  com- 
promise would  seem  to  be  effected  by  teaching  the  choir  how 
to  behave  properly  in  church  and  giving  them  a  place  with 
the  organ  somewhere  near  the  minister — whether  directly 
behind  hun  or  at  one  side  would  depend  upon  the  size  and 
proportions  of  the  auditorium. 

Concerning  the  lighting,  heating,  and  interior  finishing  of 
churches  there  are  certain  obvious  points,  the  mention  of 
which  seems,  like  the  prayers  of  the  Pharisees  and  the  song 
of  the  katy-dids,  a  vain  repetition ;  but  as  long  as  building 
committees  persist  in  doing  foolish  things,  they  must  expect 
to  be  instructed  according  to  their  foUy,  and  not  according  to 
their  T\dsdom. 


THE    INTERIOR  115 

To  build  a  church  at  great  expense  and  then,  for  the  sake 
of  saving  an  almost  inappreciable  percentage  of  its  cost,  or  of 
giving  a  job  to  a  favorite  deacon  whose  scientific  knowledge 
is  inferior  to  his  doctrinal  soundness,  compelling  one-fourth 
of  the  congregation  to  stay  at  home  on  cold  Sundays,  and 
rewarding  the  other  three-fourths  for  their  zeal  by  giving 
them  positive  discomfort  and  possible  pneumonia;  to  shut 
out  from  country  and  village  churches  the  beauty  of  trees 
and  skies  and  distant  hill-tops  by  horrible  caricatures  of 
adoring  but  distracted-looking  saints,  depicted  in  colored 
glass  and  lead  ;  to  profane  Scripture  texts  by  employing  them 
for  doubtfully  decorative  pui-poses  in  such  fantastic  typog- 
raphy that  they  might  as  well  be  Egyptian  hieroglyphics  or 
unmeaning  arabesques ;  to  set  the  preacher  directly  in  front 
of  a  gorgeous  light  or  in  line  with  the  blue  and  green  rays 
of  a  stained-glass  window,  and  expect  to  catch  the  expression 
of  his  eyes  or  the  play  of  his  features ;  to  take  the  air  that 
has  been  stagnating  in  darkness  for  an  indefinite  period 
within  the  damp  stone  waUs  of  a  church,  and,  drawing  it  down 
into  the  cellar,  send  it  back  again  by  way  of  a  red-hot,  cast- 
iron  furnace,  to  choke  an  innocent  and  helpless  congregation 
till  they  are  unable  to  distinguish  between  conviction  of  sin 
and  the  oppression  of  foul  air ;  to  construct  a  resounding 
cavern  in  which  a  single  human  voice  resounds  and  reverber- 
ates like  the  sound  of  a  waterfall  among  the  mountains  or 
a  "  fog-beU  on  a  rock-bound  coast,"  caU  it  an  "  auditorium," 
and  say  to  the  audience,  "  He  that  hath  ears  to  hear  let  him 
hear,"  if  he  can, —  aU  these  things  are  inexcusably  stupid,  not 
to  say  unchristian,  but  they  must  not  be  suffered  to  go  un- 
punished until  the  building  committees  have  learned  to  avoid 
them,  and  parish  committees  have  learned  to  correct  them,  in 
the  buildings  that  were  constructed  in  the  days  of  ignorance 
when  such  faults  were  winked  at. 


IV 

HEATING    AND    VENTILATION 

HEATING-  and  ventilating  are  so  intimately  connected  and 
mutually  dependent  that  it  is  hardly  possible  to  consider 
them  separately.  The  first  practical  step  in  warming  a  church, 
or  any  other  room  that  is  to  be  occasionally  occupied  by  a  large 
number  of  people,  should  be  taken  before  starting  the  fires. 
AU  the  doors,  windows,  and  ventilators  should  be  opened  to 
their  fullest  capacity,  whatever  the  outside  temperature  may 
be,  and  closed  as  soon  as  the  fires  are  kindled.  The  church  is 
then  f  uU  of  pure,  cold  air.  Whether  this  is  warmed  by  steam 
or  hot-water  pipes  or  radiators,  by  hot-air  furnaces  or  by 
stoves,  the  heated  body  that  is  to  impart  the  warmth  should 
be  inclosed  by  a  vertical  pipe  or  case  long  enough  to  cause  a 
rapid  upward  movement  of  the  air  within  it.  If  there  is  not 
a  sufficient  distance  from  the  floor  of  the  church  downward  to 
the  source  of  the  heat,  which  is  not  likely  to  be  the  case,  unless 
the  air  is  heated  to  a  much  higher  temperature  than  it  ought 
to  be,  this  inclosing  pipe  or  case  should  be  carried  up  through 
the  auditorium,  either  in  or  beside  an  outer  wall,  and  the 
higher  it  extends,  the  upper  end  being,  of  course,  within 
the  room,  the  sooner  will  all  the  air  in  the  room  pass  over  the 
warming  surfaces.  There  is  no  objection  to  heating  the 
upper  air  first,  for  the  simple  reason  that  it  is  impossible  to 
do  otherwise.  The  cold  air  will  remain  near  the  floor  while  it 
is  cold,  as  surely  as  water  will  sink  below  oil. 

While  the  church  is  unoccupied  and  all  the  air  it  contains  is 
fresh  and  pure,  it  may  be  drawn  directly  to  the  heating  cham- 
ber around  the  furnace  or  radiators.  Indeed,  it  would  be  a 
serious  waste  of  fuel  not  to  do  this.  But  when  the  auditorium 
is  filled  with  living,  breathing,  perspiring  people,  the  fresh 
supply  should  come  from  out-of-doors,  and  the  air  that  is 
withdrawn  to  make  room  for  it  should  be  sent  where  it  will 
not  be  breathed  again  till  it  has  gathered  new  strength  and 
lost  aU  its  impurities. 

116 


HEATING    AND    VENTILATION  117 

Undoubtedly  there  is  comfort,  especially  to  those  of  warm 
hearts  and  cold  feet,  in  a  heated  pipe  passing  along  each  pew. 
But  this  would  be  a  sort  of  private  solace  and  luxury  like  the 
old-fashioned  foot  stoves;  and  though  it  is  possible  to  obtain 
sufficient  warmth,  it  is  not  easy  to  regulate  heat  introduced  in 
this  way,  or  to  make  it  assist  directly  in  the  important  work 
of  ventilation.  If  there  were  no  other  objection  to  it,  there  is 
likely  to  be  confusion  when  the  occupants  of  the  pews  are  left 
to  do  in  an  irregular  way  what  can  only  be  successfully 
accomplished  by  an  autocratic  sexton  of  the  rarest  skill  and 
judgment  backed  up  by  an  infallible  thermometer. 

Unless  the  auditorium  is  very  large,  the  heating,  if  arranged 
on  the  general  principle  explained  above,  may  be  accomplished 
from  one  end  or  side  of  the  room,  the  warmed  air  rising  rap- 
idly through  the  vertical  pipe,  passing  steadily  across  the 
upper  part  of  the  room  to  the  opposite  side,  where  it  will  as 
steadily  but  more  slowly  descend,  and  move  back  again  near 
the  floor  to  the  ventilating  outlet  underneath  the  place  of  its 
entrance  —  to  set  forth  small  things  by  great,  somewhat  after 
the  manner  of  the  trade-winds.  Of  course  this  peaceful  and 
salubrious  flow  will  not  be  as  constant  as  those  mighty  breezes, 
nor  even  sufficiently  so  for  the  comfort  of  the  congregation, 
if  the  walls  and  the  roof  are  full  of  cracks  and  crannies,  and  if 
the  outer  doors  are  allowed  to  stand  open.  It  will  also  be 
obstructed  by  galleries,  unless  they  are  partially  detached 
from  the  outer  walls  by  open  straits  and  channels.  As  usually 
built,  a  gallery  forms  a  pocket,  or  rather  a  paii^  of  pockets,  of 
stagnant  air,  a  hot  one  above  and  a  cold  one  below.  This  is  a 
case  where  pockets  are  improved  by  having  holes  in  them. 

So  much  has  been  said  and  written  about  ventilation  that  it 
has  come  to  be  considered  a  most  abstruse  and  difficult  matter. 
This  is  a  mistake.  The  common  sense  and  mechanical  know^l- 
edge  required  to  sail  an  ordinary  catboat  would  ventilate  to 
perfection  the  largest  church  that  ever  was  built.  We  have 
only  to  remove  the  impure  atmosphere  in  the  room  and  put 
fresh  air  in  its  place  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  the  famihar 
fact  that  warm  air  is  lighter  than  cold  is  the  principle  on 
which  hang  all  the  law  and  the  prophets,  as  regards  success- 
ful ventilation.    Everybody  is  supposed  to  be  perfectly  well 


118  PARISH    BUILDINGS 

aware  of  this  fact,  and  yet  everybody,  from  the  sexton  who 
makes  the  fires  to  the  scientific  professor  who  invents  the 
"  perfect  sanitary  heating  and  ventilating  apparatus,  especially 
adapted  to  school-houses,  churches,  and  public  buildings,'^ 
seems  to  ignore  it  in  practice. 

A  uniform  system  of  ventilation  is  impossible,  because  there 
are  two  distinct  and  almost  opposite  conditions  to  be  taken 
into  account — cold  weather  and  warm  weather.  In  the  former, 
the  fresh  air  must  be  brought  in  warm  and  it  must  be  saved 
as  far  as  possible.  In  the  latter,  the  warm  air  may  be  allowed 
to  escape  freely  and  that  which  takes  its  place  may  be  cool. 
Summer  ventilation  is  an  extremely  simple  affair.  If  there  are 
openings  in  the  ceiling  or  roof,  the  higher  up  the  better,  the 
warm  air  in  the  room  will  rise  by  its  own  levity  and  pass  out- 
of-doors.  The  practical  fault  in  this  kind  of  warm-weather 
ventilation  is  that  the  outlets  are  usually  about  one-tenth  as 
large  as  they  ought  to  be  to  accomplish  their  purpose  thor- 
oughly. Unless  the  building  is  on  fire,  the  air  will  not  rush 
upward  as  water  pours  through  a  mill-race  or  Uke  the  blast  of 
a  smelting  furnace,  but  wiU  have  a  gentle  upward  movement 
scarcely  perceptible  except  by  delicate  tests.  To  expect  the 
whole  volume  of  air  contained  in  a  large  building  to  be 
drawn  up  through  an  opening  two  or  three  feet  square  several 
times  during  a  single  service  is  absui'd. 

Using  the  common  phrase,  I  said  the  warm  air  would  rise 
by  its  own  levity.  As  a  matter  of  fact  it  does  not  rise  at  all 
unless  borne  on  the  shoulders  of  the  cooler  and  heavier  air 
beneath  it.  Consequently,  unless  mechanical  means  are  used 
to  drive  it  out,  the  cool  air  admitted  near  the  floor  must  be 
recognized  as  the  active  means  of  ventilation.  The  openings 
for  its  entrance  should  be  weU  distributed  around  the  room, 
and  they  should  exceed  in  area  the  outlets,  because  in  the  vary- 
ing directions  of  the  wind  it  will  be  found  that  only  a  portion 
of  them  wiU  be  active  at  once.  Open  doors  and  windows  for 
this  purpose  are  a  delusion  and  a  snare,  whereby  the  few  who 
sit  near  them  are  sacrificed  for  the  comfort  of  the  many; 
neither  should  the  cold  air  be  brought  from  the  cellar,  unless 
the  congregation  need  an  experimental  reminder  of  the  charnel 
house.     Openings  through  the  outer  walls  near  the  floor  should 


HEATING    AND    VENTILATION  119 

be  guarded  by  valves  and  dampers  that  will  divert  and  con- 
trol the  direct  currents,  or  they  mil  be  no  better  than  open 
windows.  Undoubtedly  the  purest  air  comes  from  above.  If 
this  could  be  drawn  down  through  the  top  of  the  spire,  which 
is  by  no  means  impossible,  the  occupants  of  the  building  would 
be  greatly  blest.  In  close  quarters,  that  is,  in  cities  and 
towns,  the  outside  mouth  of  the  flues  should  surely  be  above 
aD.  danger  from  the  stagnant  atmosphere  of  narrow  alleys  and 
areas,  which  is  sure  to  be  of  the  earth  earthy.  The  best 
arrangement  for  the  inside  opening  is  to  have  floor  registers 
in  the  aisles  where  no  one  will  be  obliged  to  sit  over  them,  and 
from  which  the  entering  current  of  cold  air  will  be  diffused 
gradually  and  without  annoyance. 

Once  more,  then,  if  the  outlets  and  inlets,  arranged  as  I 
have  described  them,  are  ample,  far  more  so  than  usually 
found,  there  will  be  thorough  ventilation  without  opening 
doors  or  windows.  It  will  be  still  more  active  in  hot,  sunny 
days,  if  flues  are  made  between  the  rafters  that  slope  toward 
the  sun,  the  lower  end  of  the  flues  at  the  level  of  the  eaves 
opening  into  the  room,  and  the  other  at  the  apex  of  the  roof 
opening  into  the  outer  air. 

The  foregoing  relates  to  warm- weather  ventilation.  When 
the  building  is  warmed  by  "  artificial  heat,"  the  conditions  are 
reversed.  The  fresh,  warm  air  must  not  be  allowed  to  escape 
through  the  openings  at  the  top  of  the  room,  and  that  which 
lies  down  among  the  pews,  chilling  the  congregation  like  a 
wind  of  false  doctrine,  must  be  removed.  It  cannot  be 
drawn  out  through  holes  in  the  outside  walls  like  water  from 
a  tank,  for  the  reason  that  the  outer  air  is  colder  and  heavier, 
and  would,  therefore,  press  inward.  If  it  were  stagnant  it 
might  be  warmed  where  it  Hes,  but  since  it  must  be  con- 
stantly changed,  the  cold  air  at  the  bottom  of  the  room 
must  be  steadily  exhausted  to  make  room  for  the  fresh, 
warm  air  which,  however  it  is  introduced,  will  fill  the  highest 
places  first  and  can  only  be  coaxed  to  descend  when  the  colder 
stratum  that  supports  it  has  been  withdrawn.  This,  of  coui'se, 
may  be  done  by  machinery,  exhaust  fans  or  other  contrivance, 
but  the  heat  that  wiU  be  needed  to  run  the  engine  that  di-ives 
the  machine  wiU  probably  accomplish  more  if  applied  directly 


120  PARISH    BUILDINGS 

to  smooth  vertical  flues,  througli  wMcli  the  air  may  be  drawn 
as  in  chimneys.  These,  too,  must  be  not  merely  ample  in 
size,  say  about  ten  times  as  large  as  usual,  but  they  must  be 
heated  to  a  temperatui-e  many  degrees  above  that  desii'ed  for 
the  room  itself.  A  leaky  pump  may  be  made  to  "  draw''  by 
pouring  in  a  pint  of  water,  and  on  similar  principles  it  is 
often  expected  that  a  gas-jet,  a  few  feet  of  steam-pipe,  or  even 
a  lighted  match,  will  '^ start  the  current"  in  a  ventilating  flue, 
and  that  it  wiU  work  happily  forever  after.  But  the  pump 
will  not  continue  to  draw  unless  somebody  keeps  on  working 
the  handle ;  neither  wiU  the  ventilating  shaft,  unless  the  air 
that  is  passing  through  it  is  kept  constantly  warmer  than  the 
air  that  is  lying  at  the  base  where  the  ^'draught"  begins. 
Other  things  being  equal,  the  higher  these  warm  ventilating 
shafts  are  carried,  the  more  effective  they  will  be.  Not  a  whit 
less  important  than  chimneys,  there  is  no  reason  why  their 
presence  should  not  be  as  frankly  acknowledged,  no  reason 
why  they  should  not  be  an  essential  feature  in  the  architectural 
composition  of  every  building  in  which  fresh  air  is  a  necessity; 
that  is  to  say,  in  every  building  occupied  by  human  beings. 
Churches,  of  aU  structures,  with  their  varied  details,  but- 
tresses, pilasters,  turrets,  pinnacles,  towers,  and  spires,  can 
plead  no  lack  of  opportunity  in  their  construction  and  design 
for  ample  ventilating  shafts  and  flues.  The  only  obstacles  are 
thoughtlessness,  ignorance,  and  stupidity.  Towers  and  spires 
may  be  made  especially  serviceable  in  promoting  perfect  venti- 
lation ;  nor  would  such  beneficent  utility  detract  in  the  least 
from  their  essential  beauty.  They  would  still  point  heaven- 
ward and  declare  the  Christian  faith,  while  directly  promoting 
the  temporal  welfare  of  those  who  gather  around  them. 


V 

SHAMS    AND    AFFECTATIONS 

I  HAVE  said  that  the  chief  difficulty  in  adapting  former 
styles  to  modern  needs  and  nses  lies  in  the  interior,  and 
have  endeavored  to  indicate  briefly  why  this  is  the  case.  The 
old  ecclesiastical  monuments  that,  to  use  a  carnal  phrase,  have 
'^  set  the  fashions "  for  church  work,  albeit  followed  at  such 
enormous  distances,  cared  little  for  warmth  or  fresh  air,  still 
less  for  abundant  light,  acoustic  virtues,  and  other  comforts 
for  listening  congregations,  all  of  which  must  be  regarded  in 
the  modern  structure.  But  it  cannot  be  affirmed  that  the 
most  conspicuous  failures,  from  the  architectural  stand-point, 
are  within. 

The  Christian  Church  is  said  to  be  responsible  for  a  vast 
amount  of  cruelty  to  the  human  race,  and  surely  there  can 
be  nothing  in  its  way  more  painful  and  damaging  to  the 
wholesome  artistic  instincts  of  an  innocent  people  than  the 
architectural  crimes  that  have  been  committed  in  its  ser- 
vice. Like  many  other  crimes  committed  in  the  name  of 
religion,  these  seem  to  spring  from  excessive  zeal  planted  in 
the  soil  of  ignorance.  Instead  of  seeking  first  the  kingdom 
of  architectural  righteousness,  that  is,  of  simple  truth  in 
design  and  construction,  frantic  efforts  are  made  to  produce  an 
outside  appearance  that  cannot  possibly  be  considered  '^  secu- 
lar." Forms  and  features  must  be  created  that  are  supposed 
to  belong  to  a  "  sacred "  style  of  work,  no  matter  how  cheap 
the  material,  how  limited  the  resources,  how  feeble  the  skill, 
or  shallow  the  pretense.  A  common  fault  in  many  otherwise 
excellent  designs  is  the  combination  of  materials,  faultless  in 
themselves,  but  of  strongly  contrasting  colors.  This  is  nearly 
always  an  unworthy  expedient,  a  confession  of  incompetence 
and  inadequate  resources,  a  sign  of  a  desu-e  for  superficial 
display  fatal  to  all  dignity  and  repose. 

Still  more  common  and  deplorable  are  the  minor  follies — 
the  stone  buttresses  made  of  wood ;  brick  piers,  crumbling  as 

121 


122  PARISH   BUILDINGS 

to  their  joints  and  warped  by  the  sun,  perched  as  pinnacles 
above  useless,  weather-stained  buttresses,  and  crowned  with 
sheet-iron  head-dresses  of  strange  device ;  stained-glass  win- 
dows made  of  paper  and,  using  theological  currency,  hav- 
ing about  the  same  value  as  natural  righteousness,  filthy 
rags.  Doubtless  these  things  and  many  others  of  the  same 
sort  would  be  beneath  notice,  but  for  the  unhappy  fact  that 
they  exist  in  great  abundance  and  are,  alas,  only  too  well  pre- 
served. Yet  there  is  no  excuse  for  their  existence.  They  are 
not  merely  unnecessary,  but,  in  all  new  buildings  at  least,  they 
are  ridiculous  and  culpable  to  the  last  degree.  Under  the 
guidance  of  cultivated  taste  and  skill,  which  can  always  be 
obtained,  they  are  impossible.  Even  where  already  existing 
they  can  in  many  cases  be  rendered  comparatively  inoffensive. 
The  worthless  wood-work  may  be  heroically  removed  like  an 
offending  right  hand,  the  tottering  turrets  may  be  toppled 
over, —  give  them  time  enough,  and  they  will  come  down  of 
their  own  accord, —  the  windows  may  be  washed,  and  the 
gaudy  colors  of  the  exterior  may  be  reduced  to  sobriety  by  a 
wholesome  coat  of  paint.  Upon  a  wooden  building  paint  or 
an  equivalent  is  indispensable  ;  brick  walls  are  not  injured  by 
it  as  regards  durability, —  quite  the  contrary, —  and  in  appear- 
ance it  is  almost  a  necessity  to  them.  Perhaps  it  is  possible  to 
build  a  brick  church  that  wiU  be  thoroughly  dignified  and 
satisfactory  without  artificial  coloring,  provided  it  is  not 
streaked  and  spotted  with  light-colored  stone,  variegated  terra 
cotta,  or  mourning  bands  of  tar,  but  of  those  already  in 
existence  I  should  say  it  is  impossible  to  reverence  or  admire 
them  until  they  are  painted.  But  the  right  use  and  the  true 
value  of  color  are  rarely  understood,  even  by  those  who  think 
themselves  in  this  direction  wise  unto  salvation,  and  paint  is, 
therefore,  liable  to  destroy  as  well  as  to  save. 

Beyond  question,  every  church  dedicated  to  divine  worship 
should  be  as  beautiful  as  human  hands  can  make  it — ^not  with 
the  beauty  of  fashion,  but  with  the  beauty  of  holiness.  For 
this,  no  other  foundation  is  possible  than  that  of  absolute 
truthfuhiess  —  truth  in  material,  in  design,  and  in  motive. 
The  simple,  direct,  and  faithful  expression  of  our  noblest  senti- 
ments and  aspirations  is  the  sole  authority  in  sacred  or  in 


SHAMS    AND    AFFECTATIONS  123 

secular  architecture,  from  whose  decisions  there  is  no  appeal. 
Present  fashions  and  long-established  customs  must  alike 
obey  its  dictates.  When  this  expression  is  sincere,  and  not  a 
fanciful  indulgence  or  an  esthetic  affectation,  all  humble  uses 
and  practical  needs  will  be  as  faithfully  served  as  what  we 
are  accustomed  to  call  our  higher  emotions  and  our  spirit- 
ual wants.  We  may  still  devote  our  finest  skill  and  dearest 
possessions  to  sacred  purposes  without  neglecting  the  claims 
of  common  usefulness.  There  is  truth  in  the  assertion  that 
if  we  take  care  of  the  beautiful  the  useful  will  take  care  of 
itself ;  there  is  a  more  profound  truth  in  its  converse  if  we 
rightly  apprehend  the  height,  the  depth,  and  the  boundless 
comprehensiveness  of  divinely  beneficent  utility. 


VI 

UNPRODUCTIVE   PROPERTY 

ONE  of  tlie  most  serious  external  advantages  under  whicli 
our  churches  labor  is  the  comparative  unproductiveness 
of  chiu'ch  property. 

When  we  consider  the  church  as  an  institution  designed  to 
attract  the  attention  of  men  in  the  community,  and  lead  them 
to  certain  courses  of  life  and  development,  we  see  that  it 
is  surrounded  by  a  great  number  of  other  institutions  or 
influences,  some  friendly,  some  rival,  and  some  hostile  to  its 
objects.  In  a  certain  necessary  part  of  its  work  the  church 
comes  into  competition  with  organizations  that  tend  to  lead 
men  in  the  opposite  direction.  The  work  of  all  such  agencies 
involves,  to  some  extent,  the  use  of  property.  Unfortunately, 
while  money  devoted  to  secular  uses  pays  about  six  per  cent., 
money  devoted  to  church  uses  pays  about  one  per  cent.  Let 
me  explain  —  for  I  mean  not  hteraUy,  but  comparatively. 

Property  devoted  to  secular  uses  is  commonly  used  every 
week  day.  Some  property  devoted  to  religious  purposes  is  in 
use  also  thi^ough  the  week,  such  as  the  buildings  of  a  theo- 
logical school,  the  funds  of  many  missionary  societies,  mis- 
sion schools,  tract  societies,  publication  houses,  etc.  But  a 
church  edifice  is  used  only  one  day  in  the  week,  and  then  only 
for  four  or  five  hours. 

If  the  people  of  a  village  build  a  pubHc  Library,  a  school- 
house,  and  a  church,  the  two  former  are  available  for  use  six 
days  in  the  week,  the  latter  only  one.  In  this  sense,  church 
property  earns  for  the  cause  to  which  it  is  devoted  only  one 
per  cent.,  while  secular  property  earns  six. 

Here  are  two  buildings  on  opposite  corners  of  the  same  street. 
One  is  a  brown-stone  church,  with  spire,  pillars,  cushioned  pews, 
and  fine  organ.  With  the  ground,  it  cost  one  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars.  Opposite  is  a  block  of  buildings  containing  a 
retail  liquor  store,  or  "  grog-shop,"  a  concert  saloon,  a  public 
billiard-room,  and,  upstairs,  with  curtained  windows,  a  faro- 
bank.     These  aU  cost  far  less  than  the  church ;  they  are  run- 

124 


UNPRODUCTIVE    PROPERTY  125 

ning  day  and  night,  or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  nearly  sixteen 
hours  out  of  the  twenty-four  every  week-day,  and  to  some 
extent  on  Sunday.  They  are  in  productive  use  at  least  one 
hundred  hours  a  week.  The  church  is  endeavoring  to  coun- 
teract then*  influence  on  society,  with  four  hours  on  Sunday. 
It  is  as  plain  as  the  rule  of  thi-ee  can  make  it.  One  doUar 
invested  in  establishing  a  nursery  of  vice  is  turned  over  so 
often  that  it  is  equal  to  twenty-five  invested  in  a  church.  If 
the  reader  thinks  this  an  exaggerated  estimate,  let  him  take 
into  account,  while  he  corrects  it,  the  additional  fact  that  the 
establishment  of  vice  brings  income  to  its  keeper,  while  the 
church,  beside  the  fixed  capital  appropriated  to  it,  maintains 
its  service  at  a  constant  annual  expenditure  which  represents 
about  an  equal  additional  amount  of  capital. 

Before  inquiring  what  are  the  reasons  why  this  is  so,  let  me 
guard  against  misapprehension  by  two  suggestions.  In  the 
first  place,  it  ought  not  to  be  considered  that  it  is  wrong  to 
devote  property  to  church  uses  on  account  of  this  difficulty. 
Nor  is  it  even  inexpedient.  It  is  no  reason  why  I  should  not 
buy  a  picture  for  my  walls,  that  I  am  away  at  business  all  day, 
and  can  only  look  at  it  while  resting  at  home  in  the  evening. 
It  is  no  reason  why  I  should  not  buy  a  fine  fishing-rod,  that 
I  may  use  it  once  a  year  in  a  brief  vacation  in  June.  And 
the  fact  that  churches  are  opened  only  one  day  in  the  week  is 
no  reason  why  we  should  not  build  churches.  But  it  is  well 
to  consider  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  the  case; 
and  realize  what  immense  resources,  now  dormant,  would  be 
brought  into  active  service  if  church  property  could  be  utilized 
continuously. 

The  other  suggestion  is  the  importance  of  the  subject,  when 
we  consider  the  aggregate  of  the  resources  involved.  The 
question  is  not  to  be  dismissed  with  the  thought  that  the  addi- 
tional use  which  could  be  made  of  any  particular  edifice  would 
not  amount  to  much.  That  is  the  very  difficidty.  Church 
property  is  not  only  disused,  while  aU  other  property  is  use- 
ful, but  it  is,  to  a  great  extent,  incapacitated  from  being  used ; 
and  this  is  true  of  a  vast  domain,  an  immense  estate. 

The  church  property  in  the  States  of  the  Union  (excluding 
that  held  by  denominations  not  in  sympathy  with  general 


126  PARISH    BUILDINGS 

evangelical  doctrines)  is  probably  at  this  time  about  three 
hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  dollars.  I  have  no  means  of 
estimating  what  proportion  of  this  may  be  in  the  funds  or 
other  secular  assets  of  endowed  churches,  of  which  there  are 
a  number  in  the  older  settled  parts  of  the  country;  but  aU 
would  probably  agree  that,  excluding  aU  invested  funds,  the 
value  of  church  edifices  and  ground  must  be  far  more  than 
one-haK  the  total  church  property  —^  say  two  hundred  millions. 
The  property  of  this  character  in  the  city  of  New- York  alone 
is  estimated  at  thirty  millions.  We  may  say,  therefore,  that 
our  churches  in  this  country  lose  the  use,  six  days  out  of 
seven,  of  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars.  If  we  consider  the 
annual  value  of  this  to  be  seven  per  cent.,  it  equals  fourteen 
miUions  of  dollars.  It  is  no  exaggeration,  therefore,  to  say 
that  two  millions  of  dollars  a  year  is  paid  to  keep  the  churches 
open  on  Sunday,  and  twelve  millions  is  paid  to  keep  them  shut 
during  the  week.  If  it  were  possible  to  devise  means  for  mak- 
ing church  property  serve  its  legitimate  uses  in  advancing  the 
moral  and  religious  welfare  of  mankind  during  the  week,  the 
resources  of  the  churches  in  this  work  would  be  increased  by 
twelve  millions  per  annum. 

What,  then,  are  the  reasons  why  church  property  is  unused  ? 
In  the  first  place,  it  is  said  that  few  people  would  go  to  church 
on  a  week-day,  if  the  service  were  held.  Making  aU  allowance 
for  the  gradual  increase  of  attendance  that  might  be  expected, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  number  attending  ordinary 
"service"  on  a  week-day  would  always  be  very  small  com- 
pared with  Sunday.  The  usages  of  the  Sunday  service  have 
grown  up  in  connection  with  the  character  of  the  day,  and 
they  are  not  what  the  people  feel  the  need  of  every  day. 

If  it  is  proposed  to  give  more  scope  to  the  uses  of  the  church 
building,  we  find  that  as  such  edifices  are  usually  planned, 
especially  the  more  expensive  ones,  they  are  unfitted  for  most 
other  uses.  Again,  there  is  a  feeling  in  a  large  number  of 
minds  in  reference  to  the  walls  and  fm-niture  of  the  church 
akin  to  that  which  the  Jews  felt  for  their  temple  —  that  it 
should  be  sacred  to  express  and  formal  worship,  to  the  hom- 
age of  the  Deity  and  the  ceremonies  of  devotion.  And  in 
many  minds,  where  no  remnant  of  such  an  opinion  remains, 


UNPRODUCTIVE    PROPERTY  127 

there  are  strong  and  tender  associations  connected  with  the 
interior  of  the  house,  and  great  unwillingness  to  see  anything 
unusual  or  unaccustomed  within  its  walls.  It  is  natui-al  for 
those  who  do  not  fully  share  these  feelings  to  deprecate 
them  J  but  it  ought  to  be  observed  that  where  these  feelings 
exist  they  are  very  closely  connected  with  the  faith  and  the 
efficient  service  of  those  who  cherish  them ;  and  those  who 
consider  such  feelings  not  whoUy  reasonable  serve  no  good 
purpose  by  wounding  them.  Moreover,  such  feelings  are  gen- 
erally strongly  localized.  It  will  be  found  that  they  apply  to 
the  existing  building,  with  its  old  associations,  but  are  not 
easily  transferred  to  a  strange  building,  and  are  slow  to  con- 
nect themselves  with  a  new  one. 

Another  circumstance  that  hinders  the  more  general  use  of 
church  property  is  the  extent  to  which  private  rights  exist  in 
the  pews  of  a  majority  of  the  chui'ches,  especially  those  built 
in  the  first  half  of  this  century  and  the  more  costly  of  city 
churches.  The  owner  of  a  pew  naturally  feels  as  if  his  prop- 
erty were  used  and  depreciated  without  any  consideration  for 
his  own  benefit  if  the  house  is  freely  opened,  even  for  good 
causes.  Theoretically  there  is  a  curious  incongruity  between 
my  objecting  to  the  public  use  of  the  house,  because  it  is  exclu- 
sively the  house  of  God,  and  also  because  a  pew  in  it  belongs 
exclusively  to  me ;  but  one  who  entertains  such  an  incongTuity 
is  not  likely  to  be  conscious  of  it  even  when  it  is  pointed  out 
to  him. 

From  these  and  similar  reasons  it  is  not  likely  that  existing 
edifices  will  to  any  gi-eat  extent  be  utilized  in  the  week-time, 
nor,  perhaps,  is  it  desirable  that  aU  ever  should  be.  Yet 
within  the  limits  prescribed  by  a  just  respect  to  the  wishes  of 
aU  those  entitled  to  have  a  preference,  it  is  plain  that  any 
such  enlargement  of  the  beneficent  uses  of  such  property  is  a 
clear  gain. 

In  respect  to  new  buildings  the  subject  is  of  far  greater 
importance.  The  success  of  the  association  buildings,  which 
the  young  men  have  established  in  our  larger  cities,  shows 
that  property  can  be  used  to  advantage  every  day  in  the 
week  for  the  cause  of  religion.  In  many  a  village  where 
there  are  four  or  five  empty  chiu'ches,  locked  from  Sunday  at 


128  PARISH    BUILDINGS 

three  tiU  next  Sunday  at  nine,  there  is  not  a  weU-adapted  and 
attractive  place  to  gather  the  people  for  a  Sunday-school  con- 
vention, or  a  choir  union,  or  a  jubilee  singers'  concert,  or  a 
patriotic  or  scientific  lectiu-e,  or  an  anniversary  celebration,  or 
a  union  meeting  on  any  of  those  occasions  when  our  citizens 
wish  to  get  together  for  sympathy  or  public  gratulation. 

Were  it  found  feasible  to  enlarge  the  uses  of  a  part  of  our 
church  property  thus  under  proper  restrictions,  and  with  a 
view  to  bring  aU  classes  under  the  influence  of  the  church, 
and  into  its  place  of  worship,  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the 
moral  power  exerted  by  it  would  be  multiplied,  and  the  pres- 
ent unfortunate  unproductiveness  of  church  property  much 
relieved. 


IV 
THE    PASTOR    AT    HOME 


THE    PARSONAGE 

DO  not  mean  simply  an  edifice,  respectable 
or  otherwise,  which  has  been  appropriated 
for  a  certain  parish  purpose.  The  word  has 
a  far  broader  import.  As  the  term  church 
includes  the  inner  temple  within  the  outer, 
a  soul  within  the  body,  so  does  that  of  the 
parsonage,  whether  built  of  brick,  wood,  or 
clay,  include  the  idea  of  the  gospel  ministry.  It  is  a  kind  of 
porch,  whose  history  runs  along  with  that  of  the  church ;  and 
it  has  ever  been  a  moral  power,  a  center  of  influence  in  the 
community. 

Here  are  the  Bethels,  where  from  primeval  times  Christ's 
ambassadors  have  prayed  for  a  guilty  world,  and  where 
heavenly  fire  has  descended  upon  earthly  altars.  Here  are  the 
sancta  sanctorum,  where  the  mysteries  of  theologic  science  have 
been  explored;  where  gospel-miners  have  dug  out  precious 
ores  fi'om  the  hidden  depths  of  the  Holy  Word ;  where  skillful 
hands  have  carefully  gathered  ingots  of  pure  gold,  and  from 
the  deep  ocean  have  brought  up  pearls  of  divine  truth  for  the 
enriching  of  the  saints,  for  the  adorning  of  the  body  of  Christ. 
What  a  story  might  be  woven  out  of  the  thrilling  events 
the  parsonage  has  witnessed,  from  the  time  when  the  bold 
apostle  dwelt  in  his  own  hired  house  at  Rome,  all  through  the 
ages  down  to  the  rude  shelter  of  the  early  Puritan  pastors  on 
our  own  rock-bound  coast,  onward  to  the  present  day.     Here 

9  129 


130  THE    PASTOR    AT    HOME 

the  ignorant  have  been  instructed,  the  wayward  counseled, 
and  the  mourning  comforted.  Here  affianced  hearts  have 
been  linked  together,  and  blessed  by  the  nuptial  benediction 
in  His  name  who  has  made  wedlock  the  symbol  of  His  love 
for  the  Church. 

What  sins  known  only  to  God  have  here  been  confessed ! 
what  bui'dened  hearts  relieved !  How  many  have  here  resolved 
to  enter  the  strait  and  narrow  way !  Sometimes  the  parson- 
age has  proved  to  the  seeking  pilgrim  the  "  Wicket-gate,"  and 
again  the  "  Palace  Beautiful,"  where  he  has  rested  in  the 
"Chamber  of  Peace"  and  refreshed  himseK  by  glimpses  of 
the  "  Delectable  Mountains." 

In  the  good,  old-fashioned  pastorates  the  associations  of  a 
generation  were  gathered  around  the  man  of  Grod.  He  was 
regarded  not  only  as  the  minister,  but  as  the  father  of  his 
people.  When  stricken  down  a  wail  of  grief  went  up  from 
the  whole  community  5  and  at  his  funeral  throngs  of  reverent 
mourners  followed  in  the  long  procession  from  the  parsonage 
to  the  church,  and  thence  to  the  quiet  "  God^s-acre  "  lying  in 
its  shadow. 

The  manse,  the  rectory,  and  the  parsonage  (for  are  they  not 
one ! ),  what  sacred  memories  cluster  around  these  homes  of 
the  prophets !  They  constitute  a  Hue  of  glittering  lights, 
illumining  the  stream  of  history  for  eighteen  hundi'cd  years. 
Blot  out  these  lights,  and  what  darkness  and  desolation  would 
ensue ! 

Such  being  the  history  and  the  influence  of  the  parsonage, 
we  should  take  it  for  granted  that  every  parish  would  make 
a  point  of  securing  for  its  pastor  a  permanent  commodious 
home,  which  might  thus  become  the  center  of  hallowed  associ- 
ations. But  do  we  not  find  that  this  is  the  exception  rather 
than  the  rule  ?  Out  of  instances  more  than  can  be  reckoned, 
let  me  select  two  or  three  bearing  on  this  subject. 

On  a  certain  occasion  a  clergyman  having  traveled  some 
distance   to  visit  a  clerical  brother,  whom  I  will  call  Mr. 

H ,  the  pastor  of  an  important  church,  was  met  by  his 

friend  at  the  station.  After  walking  a  little  way  they  came 
into  a  narrow,  muddy  street,  with  a  sidewalk  of  rotten  planks, 
and  soon  brought  up  in  front  of  a  dark,  old,  tumble-down 


THE    PARSONAGE  131 

dweUing,  with  its  shingles  and  clap-boards  rattling  in  the  wind, 
and  which  was  backed  up  beside  a  shabby  paint  and  cabinet 
shop.  Pausing  before  its  steps,  which  also  were  of  rotten 
planks,  the  minister  lifted  his  hat  with  a  bow  towards  the 
house :  "  This  is  the  parsonage.  Walk  in,  and  you  shall  find 
cheery  hearts  inside." 

At  a  certain  convention  in  one  of  our  goodly  States,  a  dele- 
gate, on  his  arrival,  inquired  the  way  to  the  parsonage.  On 
reaching  the  designated  house  he  concluded  some  trick  had 
been  played  on  him,  and,  going  up  street  several  rods,  rang 
the  bell  at  the  door  of  a  neat  abode,  only  to  be  sent  back  to 
the  grim,  ghostly  shell  of  a  dwelling  he  had  just  left.  The 
same  delegate,  when  returning  one  afternoon  from  a  drive, 
on  coming  against  the  house,  told  his  friends  that  was  his 
stopping-place.  "Why,  what  sort  of  an  Irish  family  have 
they  put  you  into  1  '^  "  The  minister's,"  he  replied.  At  another 
time,  the  brother  of  the  pastor  who  occupied  this  dilapidated 
dwelling,  coming  from  a  distance  to  visit  hun,  told  the  hack- 
man  to  drive  him  to  the  Rev.  J.  Blank's.  On  reaching  the  old 
house,  the  carriage  door  was  flung  open  with  the  accustomed 
"Here  is  your  stopping-place."  "You  must  be  mistaken!" 
"It  is  the  parsonage,  sir."  "J.  never  Lives  in  a  house  Like 
that ! "  But  he  did.  It  was  the  parsonage  of  one  of  the  richest 
parishes  in  the  State,  and  ilLustrates  the  truth  of  the  saying 
that  corporations  have  no  souls.  What  is  everybody's  business 
is  nobody's. 

Within  a  few  years,  however,  there  have  been  great  improve- 
ments in 'this  direction.  The  movement  in  parsonage  build- 
ing is  one  of  the  bright  omens  of  the  day.  Still,  everything 
depends  on  its  proper  management.  Only  let  our  parishes 
realize  what  inspiration  flows  in  from  pleasant  surroundings, 
and  what  educating  and  refining  elements  are  contained  in  a 
convenient  and  tasteful  edifice,  and  the  business  of  erecting 
the  parsonage  wili  never  be  put  into  the  hands  of  a  penimous 
committee,  who  haggle  in  their  bargains  whether  for  God  or 
man,  and  who  think  far  less  of  the  parson's  comfort  than  of 
the  parish  coppers.  The  parsonage  committee  should  be  men 
of  enlarged  views,  and,  if  possible,  with  an  aesthetic  eye  as 
well. 


132  THE    PASTOR   AT    HOME 

This  is  a  matter  in  which  the  flock  are  concerned  almost 
equally  with  the  shepherd.  Many  a  minister  is  forced  to  ask 
a  dismission  simply  for  lack  of  a  decent  abode,  and  sometimes 
from  finding  absolutely  no  roof  to  shelter  him.  An  excellent 
pastor,  after  twenty  years  in  the  ministry,  remarked,  that 
"upon  fair  computation  he  had  spent  nearly  five  of  those 
years  in  moving  from  one  house  to  another."  How  many 
parishioners  dwell  in  palaces,  while  their  faithful  and  laborious 
pastor  is  thus  moving  from  pillar  to  post ! 

Let  me  give  another  experience.  In  removing  to  a  certain 
parish,  a  minister  was  obliged  to  take  up  his  residence  in  the 
noisiest  part  of  the  noisiest  street  of  that  wide-awake  semi- 
city.  It  was  at  the  point  where  every  sort  of  a  thing  con- 
gregated, and  where  dust  and  profanity  sifted  through  the 
mndows  in  about  equal  proportions.  And  it  was  only  part 
of  a  house  at  that.  What  was  to  be  done  with  aU  the  furniture 
and  books  and  necessary  rubbish,  the  accumulations  of  years, 
was  a  problem  not  easily  solved.  Things  were  crowded  into 
the  barn  and  the  cellar-kitchen,  while  the  eaves  of  the  low 
attic  gaped  in  wonder  at  the  quantities  wedged  beneath  them. 
Under  the  tables,  under  the  beds,  anywhere  and  everywhere, 
boxes  and  baskets  were  stowed  away. 

It  was  not  living,  but  staying.  Yet  in  aU  this  the  parson 
and  parsoness  acquiesced,  in  the  pleasing  assui^ance  that 
something  better  would  turn  up :  for  great  as  had  come  to  be 
their  dread  of  moving, —  and  they  had  been  led  to  reverse  the 
common  saying  that  three  moves  are  equal  to  one  fire,  to 
mean  that  one  move  was  equal  to  three  fires, —  they  looked 
forward  to  it  as  the  one  thing  to  be  desired  5  yet,  as  no  better 
thing  did  turn  up,  feeling  that  something  was  better  than 
nothing,  they  tried  to  be  thankful  for  what  shelter  they  had. 

At  length  rumors  filled  the  air  that  they  were  to  be  warned 
out  of  the  premises.  To  such  portentous  mutterings  they 
turned  a  deaf  ear;  but  for  aH  that  the  blow  fell.  In  three 
months  at  farthest  the  dwelling  must  be  vacated.  Of  course 
they  went  diligently  into  house-hunting.  Reports  coming  to 
them  of  this  abode,  and  of  that,  about  to  be  rented,  they  would 
start  off  on  an  inquiring  tour,  only  to  hear  again  and  again, 
''We  have  no  thought  of  leaving."    As  no  house  could  be 


THE    PARSONAGE  133 

found,  would  some  one  build  for  them  ?  Here,  at  last,  Kght 
dawned.  A  welL-to-do  carpenter,  who  had  purchased  a  piece 
of  land,  was  quite  ready  to  build.  The  minister's  wife  began 
to  erect  castles  in  the  air.  She  would  have  a  veranda  and  a 
bay-window.  True,  there  was  not  the  least  bit  of  an  ocean- 
view  ;  and  this,  on  the  sea-coast,  was  particularly  aggravating. 
But  then,  one  could  n't  have  everything;  so  she  was  fain  to 
content  herself  with  thoughts  of  the  pretty  bay-window  and 
the  neat  little  veranda.  Alas !  when  the  minister  returned 
from  the  carpenter's,  he  reported  that  the  house  was  to  be  a 
double  tenement,  three  stories  high,  right  up  and  down,  and 
without  room  for  a  single  nice  little  quirk  or  quaver. 

"  Still,  it  wiU  be  a  shelter,"  she  comforted  herself ;  "  and  I 
shall  have  room  to  stow  away  all  my  boxes  and  bags  without 
fear  of  ejectment." 

Suddenly  came  the  astounding  information  that  the  whole 
had  fallen  through  ;  that  the  matter-of-fact  house  had  timibled 
flat  to  the  ground,  like  many  a  grander  castle  in  the  air. 

Next  the  parson  and  his  wife  went  scorning  the  region  in 
search  of  building  spots  —  through  highways  and  byways, 
over  rocks  and  pastures,  in  every  direction  where  they  chanced 
to  hear  of  a  vacant  lot.  But  nobody  cared  to  seU ;  nobody 
could  be  induced  to  sell. 

As  the  upshot  of  all,  they  were  driven  to  the  alternative  of 
giving  up  their  parish  and  taking  theii^  departure  from  the 
town,  or  appropriating  to  themselves  an  ancient  edifice  far 
larger  than  their  needs.  The  latter  seemed  the  providential 
thing  to  be  done,  and  they  did  it,  but,  you  may  be  sure,  with 
an  increased  sense  of  the  desirableness  that  every  parish, 
according  to  its  means,  should  make  some  provision  for  the 
minister's  home. 

In  a  certain  number  of  ''  The  Congregational  Quarterly''  we 
are  told  of  a  Miss  Baxter,  who  left  a  handsome  legacy  towards 
a  parsonage,  and  on  such  conditions  as  to  secure  its  speedy 
erection.  Thrice  blessed  be  her  memory !  Said  the  grateful 
occupant,  who  knew  by  contrast  how  to  appreciate  such  a 
home :  ''  When  wiU  parishes  learn,  as  one  of  the  secrets  of 
keeping  a  good  minister,  that  they  must  give  liim  an  assured 
home  of  comfort!     The  gi'ace  of  patience  will  have  sufficient 


134  THE    PASTOR   AT    HOME 

occasion  for  exercise  without  driving  him  from  pillar  to  post, 
and  worrying  his  life  out  of  him  in  constant  search  for  a  place 
to  shelter  his  family.  Neither  is  the  opportunity  to  study 
promoted  by  setting  up  his  Hbrary  annually  in  a  new  place ; 
nor  is  it  made  more  accessible  by  storage  in  the  only  attic 
attainable,  or,  perchance,  in  the  loft  of  a  horse-she d.^' 

Now,  why  should  not  a  Miss  or  a  Mr.  Baxter  spring  up  in 
every  flourishing  parish?  Let  it  be  understood,  however, 
that  it  is  not  essential  to  the  value  of  the  benefaction  that  it 
should  be  post  mortem.  Nor  need  the  privilege  be  monopo- 
lized by  a  single  individual ;  for  two  or  three,  or  even  more, 
might  share  in  it.  Indeed,  aU  the  parish  could  have  a  hand 
in  the  parsonage,  some  planning  the  garden,  and  others  set- 
ting out  trees ;  while  the  lovers  of  art  could  display  their  taste 
by  some  fine  engraving  hung  here  and  there  on  its  cheerful 
walls. 

Scarcely  anything  of  an  external  nature  could  bring  to  the 
minister  so  much  of  genial  influence.  "  I  believe  I  shall  live 
years  longer  for  this  fine  prospect  and  comfortable  home," 
remarked  a  clergyman  who,  after  much  trying  experience  in 
moving,  at  length  found  himself  in  a  permanent  and  pleasant 
abode. 

A  commodious  parsonage  is  sometimes  the  deciding  point 
in  a  minister's  consideration  of  a  call.  And  without  room 
enough  to  fiu^nish  a  pleasant  apartment  for  a  study,  it  could 
hardly  be  regarded  as  commodious,  unless,  indeed,  such  a 
study  is  provided  in  the  church.  There  are  ministers  of  long 
experience  who  think  it  better,  if  a  choice  is  open,  that  the 
study  should  be  in  one's  own  home,  even  if  at  the  same  time 
there  is  a  room  in  the  church  where  the  pastor  can  be  found 
at  certain  hours.  This  matter,  however,  must  depend  on  the 
circimistances. 

In  connection  with  the  study,  a  pastor's  library  is  an  addi- 
tion, the  advantages  of  which  can  hardly  be  overestimated. 
There  are  instances  where  this  is  provided  for  by  a  friend, 
which  enables  the  minister  to  add  a  few  volumes  every  year. 
A  little  thought  and  contrivance  would  make  such  a  plan, 
to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  practicable  in  many  of  our 
churches. 


THE    PARSONAGE  135 

The  benefits  of  such  a  home  as  we  are  considering  are  by 
no  means  confined  to  the  pastor's  household.  They  reach 
every  family  in  the  parish,  and  every  child  in  each  family. 

Thus  the  parsonage  becomes  an  impersonation  of  the  parish 
ideal — an  attractive  moral  center  for  parish  sympathies  and 
sentiments  as  well  as  for  its  varied  schemes  of  usefulness. 

From  their  position  ministers  are  peculiarly  susceptible  to 
such  influences.  They  feel  them  in  the  family,  in  the  study, 
in  pulpit  and  pastoral  labors,  and  in  gi^eat  and  little  ways  too 
numerous  to  mention  ;  and  all  these  influences  constitute  iron 
links  in  binding  them  to  their  people. 


II 

THE    PASTOR'S    WIFE 

NEITHER  in  law  nor  in  Gospel  is  the  minister's  wife  the 
wife  or  servant  of  the  parish.  She  belongs  to  her  hus- 
band and  family,  and  to  no  corporate  body  or  association. 
The  parish  has  no  more  right  to  levy  a  tax  on  her  time,  or  to 
dictate  her  mode  of  dress,  style  of  Hving,  or  manner  of  hie, 
than  that  of  the  lawyer's  or  the  doctor's  wife. 

Yet,  for  their  pastor's  sake  as  well  as  their  own,  the  people 
will  feel  a  deep  interest  in  his  selection  of  a  companion.  No 
one,  however  wanting  in  spirituality,  would  recommend  to 
him  a  mere  woman  of  fashion,  whose  heart  is  absorbed  in  the 
trimming  of  a  dress  of  the  color  of  a  bow.  With  such  an  one 
he  might  well  enough  take  a  promenade^  sing  a  song,  or  play 
a  game  of  croquet ;  but  all  agree  that  she  is  totally  unsuited 
to  be  his  partner  in  the  sober  work  of  life.  Even  irreligious 
people  admit  that  a  ministei-'s  wife  should,  Hke  her  husband, 
be  identified  in  her  sympathies  with  the  kingdom  which  is  not 
of  this  world.  And  the  more  intelligent  she  is,  the  more 
thorough  her  education,  the  better  fitted  will  she  be  to  enter 
into  his  work,  and  to  stimulate  him  inteUectuaUy  and  morally. 

It  is  fortunate  if  she  proves  to  be  his  counterpart,  his  com- 
plement, as  the  beautiful  Anglo-Saxon  term  help-meet  signifies. 
All  the  better  should  her  temperament  differ  from  his,  pro- 
vided the  differences,  like  certain  discords  in  music,  tend  to 
greater  harmony.  A  reserved  man  needs  a  wife  who  is  frank 
and  social ;  an  impulsive  man,  one  who  is  calm  and  judicious. 
It  is  particularly  fortunate  for  the  parish  if  their  pastor's  wife 
has  the  power  of  adapting  herself  to  the  temperament  and  the 
needs  of  her  husband. 

Variety  is  one  of  the  beautiful  laws  of  nature.  Examine 
the  myriads  of  leaves  that  line  the  forest-paths.  Will  you 
find  any  two  alike  ?  And  do  you  ever  have  any  difficulty  in 
telliag  your  own  horse  and  cow,  your  hens  and  your  cat,  from 
those  of  your  neighbor  ?     So  uniform  is  this  law  of  variety, 


THE    PASTOR'S   WIFE  137 

that  the  wonder  always  is,  not  the  infinity  of  nature's  molds, 
which  is  really  the  miracle,  but  when  any  two  things  happen 
to  be  so  nearly  alike  that  there  is  some  slight  trouble  in 
distinguishing  them. 

The  same  arrangement  extends  into  the  world  of  humanity. 
Yet  there  are  certain  wiseacres  who,  to  judge  by  their  exper- 
iments in  tinkering  Nature,  consider  her  work  as  bungling 
and  botchy.  The  Jesuit  doctors  belabor  their  disciples,  toning 
down  willfulness,  clipping  off  originality,  chipping  away  idio- 
syncrasies, and  destroying  all  independence,  till  they  subdue 
their  victims  to  the  tamest  uniformity.  There  have  been 
occasional  experiments  something  after  this  fashion  among 
Protestants — an  attempt  to  prune  every  offshoot  of  native 
originality,  to  restrain  every  outburst  of  genius,  and  to  quash 
every  assertion  of  individuality.  In  short,  the  idea  has  seemed 
to  be  the  casting  scores  of  girls  successively  into  the  same 
mold,  and  turning  them  out  after  the  same  identical  pattern, — 
a  set  of  pretended  fine  specimens  of  nature,  when  nature  was 
the  very  thing  crushed  out  of  them. 

They  must  even  write  the  same  hand,  at  whatever  expense 
of  time  and  labor.  What  a  libel  on  our  bounteous  mother ! 
And  how  incomprehensible  the  desire  to  destroy  that  indi- 
viduality which  is  the  soul  of  everything,  and  which  is 
manifest  even  in  one's  chirography !  For  myseK,  it  would 
not  suit  me  to  have  the  handwriting  of  my  children,  any  more 
than  their  faces,  just  like  everybody's — or,  indeed,  anybody's — 
else. 

Now,  a  minister's  wife  constitutes  no  exception  to  this  law 
of  variety.  In  order  to  do  justice  to  all  concerned,  she  must 
be  herself,  and  not  somebody  else.  To  expect  her  to  work 
according  to  parish  rules,  or  to  walk  in  the  exact  footsteps  of 
ber  predecessor,  is  contrary  to  all  reason.  It  is  her  undoubted 
right  to  act  out  her  own  particular  nature,  to  do  good  in  her 
own  way. 

Some  women  have  not  merely  a  natural  timidity,  but  also  a 
constitutional  reserve,  in  expressing  their  religious  emotions. 
This  gives  them  a  peculiar  shrinking  from  many  of  those 
things  expected  of  a  minister's  wife.  Taking  part  in  a  prayer- 
meeting  is  extremely  painful,  while  assuming  its  direction  is 


138  THE    PASTOR    AT    HOME 

sometimes  positive  torture.  They  may  be  earnest  Christians, 
bnt  they  cannot  pray  in  the  presence  of  others  without  an 
amount  of  struggling  and  suffering  of  which  you  have  little 
conception.  They  deserve  your  sympathy  rather  than  your 
censure  J  for  Christ  has  nowhere  enjoined  the  specific  duty 
you  requii'e  of  them. 

Yet,  in  these  cases,  uncharitable  remarks  are  often  made. 
Said  a  good  sister  to  a  minister's  wife,  whom  she  had  reproved 
for  not  speaking  in  a  public  prayer-meeting :  "  Sifting  the 
matter  to  the  bottom,  it  was  all  pride  that  prevented." 

Another  minister's  wife  of  this  class  was  labored  with  by 
one  of  the  ^'  brethren,"  who  affirmed  that  women  always  had 
a  burden  on  their  heart  if  they  did  not  speak.  To  whom  she 
rephed  that  she  sometimes  had  a  greater  one,  if  she  did  speak. 

Of  course,  no  one  will  understand  me  as  in  the  least  under- 
rating the  value  or  influence  of  female  prayer-meetings.  Let 
all  who  can  freely  mingle  theii'  hearts  together,  and  rejoice  in 
the  privilege.  Such  meetings  are  often  an  important  help  to 
the  minister,  and  a  great  moral  power  in  the  church.  But 
some  there  are  who  can  plead  the  cause  of  a  lost  world  more 
fervently  and  unrestrainedly  in  their  own  closets.  Do  not 
pronounce  them  unfaithful  or  indifferent ;  for  the  incense  that 
goes  up  from  hidden  censers  is  not  less  acceptable  to  the  Lord. 
Remember  that  — 

"Prayer is  the  soul's  sincere  desire, 
Uttered  or  unexpressed ; 
The  motion  of  a  hidden  fire 
That  trembles  in  the  breast." 

I  speak  warmly  on  this  subject,  because  I  have  been  a  wit- 
ness to  the  suffering  of  some  of  these  retiring  spirits  from  the 
misjudgments  of  those  who  could  not  appreciate  their  trials. 
There  are  women  who  could  preside  at  a  large  meeting  with 
entire  equanimity,  and  who  have  a  great  facility  in  expressing 
their  thoughts  and  feelings.  Let  all  such  be  congratulated ; 
but  do  not  rebuke  those  who  are  not  equal  to  such  occasions. 
The  difference  between  the  two  classes  is  often  one  of  mere 
constitutional  temperament. 

In  these  remarks  I  have  no  reference  to  the  question  of 
woman's  rights  ;  though  if  I  had,  in  claiming  for  my  sex  the 


THE    PASTOR'S   WIFE  139 

liberty  of  speech  I  should  also  claim  the  liberty  of  silence. 
There  are  women  as  well  as  men  who  are  qualified  to  command 
the  attention  of  a  large  assembly ;  and  there  are  men  as  well 
as  women  who,  eloquent  though  they  may  be  with  the  pen, 
never  venture  to  speak  in  public. 

There  are  soldiers  of  the  cross  who  can  bravely  fight  in  the  fore- 
front of  battle,  marching  onward  to  the  sound  of  trumpets  and 
with  fl;>^ng  banners.  And  there  are  others,  equally  loyal,  who 
shrink  from  the  open  field.  Their  conflicts  are  in  the  solitary 
^vilderness,  and  theu*  victories  are  registered  only  in  the  Lamb's 
book  of  hfe.  Let  us  do  aU  honor  to  the  former  class  ;  but  let 
us  not  be  unjust  to  the  latter,  who,  though  in  a  more  private 
way,  may  accomplish  not  less  for  their  Master.  To  him  they 
are  equally  dear,  and  they  shall  wear  at  last  as  bright  a 
crown. 

There  are  various  ways  in  which  a  minister's  wife,  true  to  her 
individuality,  may  accomplish  her  work. 

One  has  an  affinity  for  children,  easily  entering  into  their 
joys  and  sorrows,  and  by  her  skill  in  story-teUing  making 
them  her  fast  friends.  In  the  public  ministries  of  the  church 
but  little  is  done  for  this  class.  Sunday  after  Sunday,  they 
listen  to  sermons  of  which  they  understand  almost  nothing. 
Occasionally  a  dish  is  prepared  expressly  for  them,  but  they 
are  not  fed  in  their  turn;  they  get  but  little  ^^milk  for  babes." 
When  a  minister's  wife  supplements  this  want  by  feeding  them 
herself,  she  performs  an  excellent  work.  Indeed,  in  no  better 
way  can  she  serve  the  interests  of  the  parish ;  for  not  only 
does  she  thus  reach  the  hearts  of  the  parents,  but  the  children 
themselves  wHl  soon  be  in  the  places  of  influence  ;  and  every- 
thing that  molds  them  is  of  no  small  account. 

Besides  what  she  does  for  their  moral  and  spiritual  benefit, 
she  instructs  them  in  the  etiquette  of  social  life.  She  teaches 
them  that  Mr.  Good-Manners  is  an  important  member  of  soci- 
ety, in  whose  graces  it  is  well  for  them  to  keep  ;  that,  by  his 
advice,  boys  will  take  off  their  caps  or  hats  whenever  entering 
a  parlor  or  a  church ;  and  that  both  boys  and  gu'ls  will  not 
only  leave  the  most  comfortable  chairs  for  their  elders,  but 
will  offer  their  own  seat  to  any  lady  or  gentleman  who  is 
standing ;  as  also,  that,  in  making  visits,  they  wHl  address  first 


140  THE    PASTOR    AT    HOME 

tlie  lady  and  gentleman  of  tlie  house,  taking  particular  leave 
of  them  when  they  retire.  She  further  makes  a  point  of  in- 
forming them  that  this  same  civil-spoken  gentleman  protests 
against  the  rowdyism  of  language  as  well  as  of  manners  ;  such 
as  the  calling  their  father  "  governor/'  and  their  food  "  grub." 

By  her  mse  management,  a  wonderful  change  in  the  httle 
folk  is  soon  visible.  In  no  better  way  can  the  interests  of 
the  flock  be  served  than  by  this  watch  and  care  over  the 
childi'en  5  and  in  no  better  way  can  she  manifest  her  love  to 
Him  one  of  whose  last  charges  was,  "  Feed  my  lambs." 

Another  minister's  vdfe  attracts  an  older  class.  By  her 
peculiar  power  of  adaptation,  she  wins  the  confidence  of  the 
young  men  and  women.  She  interests  herself  in  their  reading 
and  amusements  5  in  their  social  and  intellectual  culture ;  in 
their  plans,  their  aspirations,  their  day-dreamings  even.  She 
is  thus  able  to  do  much  in  forestalling  evil  and  strengthening 
them  against  temptation. 

This  one  is  of  a  particularly  social  nature,  and  goes  about 
freely  among  the  people;  thus  assisting  her  husband  in  his 
pastoral  labors,  and  atoning,  perhaps,  for  his  reserve.  She 
has  the  tact  that  enables  her  to  drop  the  right  word  in  the 
right  place,  to  allay  jealousy  and  HL-feeling,  and  to  strengthen 
every  good  purpose ;  and  she  is  always  able  to  tell  her  husband 
where  his  attention  is  particularly  needed. 

That  one  may  be  said  to  have  the  gift  of  healing.  Wher- 
ever there  is  sickness  and  suffering  there  she  is  found,  bring- 
ing sunshine  into  darkened  homes  and  hearts.  Many  a  shroud 
is  made  by  her  gentle  fingers ;  many  a  silent  form  is  prepared 
by  her  kind  hands  for  its  last  sleep ;  and  on  occasions  of  sorrow 
or  of  joy,  wherever  flowers  have  a  loving  ministry,  there  she 
is  sure  to  be  with  her  beautiful  and  fragrant  offerings. 

Here  you  find  a  minister's  wife  who,  according  to  common 
parlance,  has  the  gift  of  smartness.  It  is  an  easy  thing  for 
her  to  cut  out  work  for  a  whole  bevy  of  women ;  and  the  more 
she  has  to  do  in  this  Hue,  the  better  is  she  satisfied.  In  every 
bone  and  muscle  she  is  one  of  the  executives,  and  just  fitted  to 
take  the  lead  in  all  benevolent  enterprises. 

There  you  find  another,  whose  husband  is  in  deHcate  health, 
or  who,  for  some  reason,  eschews  the  manual  labor  of  writing. 


THE    PASTOR'S    WIFE  141 

She  makes  his  correspondence  one  of  her  special  cares.  It 
may  be  that  liis  sight  is  impaired ;  so  she  devotes  much  of  her 
time  to  reading  to  him  and  for  him,  and  becomes  his  stand- 
ing amanuensis  —  an  office  which,  for  a  minister's  wife,  is  no 
sinecure. 

Still  another  guards  her  husband  against  aU  unnecessary 
interruptions  in  his  study-hours.  She  also  entirely  relieves 
him  from  domestic  cares,  taking  upon  herseK  all  the  economic 
arrangements  of  the  family,  and,  if  a  httle  land  is  necessary 
to  eke  out  a  support,  assuming  much  of  its  oversight. 

It  is  related  of  Mrs.  Timothy  Edwards,  the  honored  mother 
of  President  Edwards,  that  she  took  entire  charge  of  the 
household,  consisting  of  her  husband  and  eleven  children, 
with  the  oversight  of  the  servants  and  cattle  on  the  farm  — 
Mr.  Edwards  being  unable  to  teU  his  own  cow  from  those  of 
his  neighbors,  while  he  was  equally  unpractical  in  other 
directions.  She  thus  bore  on  her  own  shoulders  the  whole 
burden  of  family  cares,  that  he  might  devote  himself  wholly 
to  his  ministerial  work.  The  parish,  with  good  reason,  con- 
tinued to  her  the  salary  during  the  twelve  years  in  which  she 
survived  her  husband. 

Now  and  then  a  minister's  wife  has  as  much  as  she  can  do 
in  adapting  herself  to  the  peculiarities  of  her  husband.  Some- 
times she  cannot  trust  him  to  go  into  the  pulpit,  or  even  to 
make  calls,  tiU  she  has  turned  him  round,  taking  a  thorough 
survey,  lest  his  coat  may  be  unbrushed,  his  collar  awry,  or  his 
cuffs  soiled.  If  he  is  forgetful,  absent-minded,  or  unpractical, 
she  must  have  not  only  her  eyes  but  her  wits  continually 
about  her,  to  correct  his  mistakes  and  cover  his  blunders. 

It  is  said  of  Dr.  Backus,  that  in  his  abstract  moods  he 
would  sit  in  his  study,  stirring  his  fire  with  the  tongs  till 
scarcely  an  ember  was  left ;  when,  feeling  cold,  he  would  call 
for  his  wife  to  come  and  ^'  mend  the  fire."  We  can  imagine 
what  would  become  of  such  a  man  if  left  to  himseK. 

It  is  evident  that  many  ministers  greatly  need  wives  with 
their  eyes  open  and  their  wits  about  them;  and  that  the 
parishioners,  over  whom  such  a  vigilant  good- will  is  watching 
from  the  windows  of  the  parsonage,  ought  to  be  very  thankful, 
not  only  for  their  pastor's  sake,  but  also  for  their  own. 


Ill 

THE    PASTOR'S    CHILDREN 

A  CCORDING  to  some,  nothing  very  good  is  to  be  looked 
X\.  for  from  the  parsonage  juveniles.  The  world  must  have 
its  freqnent  fling  at  these  suspected  characters,  and  on  hear- 
ing of  some  naughty  deed  perpetrated  by  any  one  of  them,  it 
will,  of  course,  exclaim :  "  Nothing  better  was  to  be  expected. 
Ministers'  children,  as  everybody  knows,  are  up  to  aU  sorts  of 
mischief." 

Yet  there  are  some  things  to  be  said  on  the  other  side. 
^^The  merest  glance  at  successful  business  men,"  writes  a 
leading  journalist,  '^refutes  the  scandal  that  ministers'  sons 
turn  out  badly.  The  son  of  a  New  England  clergyman  laid 
the  foundation  for  the  oldest  religious  paper  in  New-York. 
From  the  brain  of  another  son  came  the  telegraph.  The  son 
of  another  minister  laid  the  Atlantic  cable.  The  most  eminent 
judges,  lawyers,  civilians,  members  of  Congress,  and  princely 
merchants  in  the  State  are  sons  of  New  England  clergymen." 
It  might  also  be  added  that  the  last  two  Presidents  of  the 
United  States  have  been  sons  of  ministers. 

"  It  has  sometimes  been  flippantly  said,"  writes  another, 
^'  that  '  ministers'  and  deacons'  children  are  worse  than  any 
others.^  In  some  exceptional  cases,  the  very  relationship  has 
given  a  prominence  to  misdoing,  has  made  it  more  noticed 
and  talked  about.  But  in  point  of  fact,  the  statement  is  not 
true." 

He  then  gives  statistics  showing  that  in  Massachusetts  and 
Connecticut,  out  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  and  thirty-five 
children  of  ministers  and  deacons,  only  forty  —  that  is,  two  and 
a  half  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number — turned  out  badly. 

In  Dr.  Sprague's  collection  of  clerical  biographies,  we  find 
further  confirmation  on  this  point.  Of  a  hundred  clergymen 
taken  from  these  volumes  at  random,  we  find  that  a  hundred 
sons  became  also  ministers,  while  the  largest  proportion  of  the 


THE    PASTOR'S    CHILDREN  143 

others  rose  to  professional  or  business  eminence.  And  to  say 
of  any  lady,  '  she  was  the  daughter  of  a  clergyman/  is  consid- 
ered a  guarantee  of  respectability  and  worth,  both  in  Great 
Britain  and  America." 

It  cannot  be  denied,  however,  that  as  a  rule  ministers'  chil- 
dren are  overflowing  with  oxygen  and  merriment.  Eager  to 
have  a  hand  in  everything  that  is  going  on,  they  can  hardly 
step  out-of-doors  without  stumbling  upon  some  temptation. 
Now,  how  are  you  to  manage  so  as  to  escape  perpetual  fits  of 
anxiety  when  they  are  out  of  sight  ? 

To  keep  them  within  the  home  influence,  every  mother 
must  make  home  attractive,  at  whatever  cost  of  time  and  labor. 
Her  boys,  as  well  as  her  girls,  must  flnd  their  chief  enjo;vTnent 
at  their  own  fireside.  Otherwise,  before  she  knows  it,  they 
will  have  slipped  away  from  her  irretrievably.  It  is  one  of 
the  essentials  that  they  should  have  amusements,  or,  what  is 
a  better  term,  entertainments.  If  their  home  does  not  pro- 
vide them  with  those  which  are  pure  and  elevating,  they  will 
be  tempted  to  seek  such  as  are  low  and  debasing.  Work  of 
some  kind  with  the  fingers  or  with  the  brain  is  the  chief  busi- 
ness of  life.  But  diversion  must  be  provided,  also,  in  wise 
measure,  to  give  color  and  flavor  to  its  ordinary  experiences ; 
and  the  home  of  the  clergyman  is  the  last  home  in  the  parish 
which  ought  to  be  the  abode  of  dullness  and  gloom.  Yet,  what- 
ever pains  may  be  expended  in  wise  training,  the  world  will 
continue  to  ring  the  charge  of  perverseness  and  all  manner  of 
atrocities  against  parsonage  children.  We  who  are  versed  in 
such  matters  could  tell  Madam  Grundy  that  while  there  may 
be  an  apparent  truth  in  her  accusation,  it  is  yet,  in  its  essence, 
a  gross  slander.  Did  these  people,  so  readily  believing  ill,  ever 
notice  the  bareheaded,  barefooted  children  who  are  out-of- 
doors  with  impunity  in  all  sorts  of  weather  ?  Did  they  ever 
contrast  them  with  other  childi^en,  with  whom  any  such  exper- 
iment would  be  followed  by  chills  and  fever,  if  not  by  fatal 
disease  ?  But  why  cannot  the  one  set  of  children  be  hardened 
as  well  as  the  other !  Because  they  are  of  a  veiy  different 
organization.  In  this  answer  we  find  the  key  to  many  of 
those  parsonage  misdemeanors  which  are  trumpeted  so  far 
and  wide. 


144  THE    PASTOR    AT    HOME 

It  is  frankly  conceded  that,  as  a  general  thing,  ministers' 
children  do  not  belong  to  that  immaculate  set  who  never  tear 
their  clothes,  never  crack  the  crockery,  and  never  break  their 
bones ;  who  will  sit  primly  in  straight-backed  chairs,  hour  after 
hour,  with  hands  folded  and  feet  dangling,  and  without  so 
much  as  presuming  to  wink.  I  remember  the  indignant  look 
which  flushed  the  face  of  a  young  minister's  wife,  when  a  row 
of  these  same  impeccables  was  pointed  out  to  her  high-flying 
little  girls  as  a  gracious  model. 

"  They  never  want  to  leap  downstairs,  climb  trees,  walk 
fences,  jump  over  stones,  roll  in  the  grass,  and  wade  barefooted 
through  brooks  as  yours  do  —  not  they,  indeed  ! " 

And  why  don't  they,  good  sir?  Why  is  it  that  little  Maggie, 
who  can  hardly  tottle  alone,  must  seize  on  mamma's  absence 
to  tip  over  the  slop-pail,  and  go  to  scrubbing  up  the  floor  with 
papa's  freshly  ironed  shii't?  What  makes  Willie  upset  the 
inkstand  on  the  best  table-cloth,  spoiling  a  book  of  fine  Paris 
engravings  ?  And  while  the  discomfited  little  mother  is  chang- 
ing Eddie's  dripping  trousers,  in  which  he  has  been  foraging 
after  pond  lilies,  why  does  that  witch  of  a  Nannie  steal  off  so 
shyly  ?  —  why  but  to  slip  into  the  study,  and  with  her  chubby 
fingers  execute  remarkable  hieroglyphics  all  over  papa's  just 
finished  grand  election  sermon. 

Why  is  all  this,  but  that  they  are  alive,  wide-awake  children, 
with  not  a  drop  of  stagnant  blood  in  their  veins  ?  Nor  is  this 
strange.  Think  of  the  father  with  his  long  student-life  and 
perpetual  brain-work.  Think  of  the  mother  with  a  constant 
tax  on  her  wits  and  strain  on  her  nerves  to  keep  the  pot 
boiling,  while  she  looks  after  father  and  children,  the  home, 
and  the  flock ! 

Do  you  wonder  that  the  children  of  such  parents  inherit 
active  brains  ?  —  that  they  are  often  brimful  of  restlessness, 
fun,  and  mischief  ? 

Sometimes,  from  the  feeling,  perhaps,  that  these  httle  ones 
are  so  many  tiny  candles  set  on  a  hill,  in  the  face  of  all  the 
congregation,  the  parental  reins  may  be  held  a  trifle  tight, 
leading  to  restive  jerks  and  leaps  as  opportunitj^  offers.  Head, 
heart,  hands,  and  feet  are  often  taxed  to  the  utmost  in  con- 
trolling the  animal  spirits  of  these  children,  and  in  quelling 


THE    PASTOR'S    CHILDREN  145 

those  hot-headed  impulses  which  drive  them  in  every  direction 
but  the  right  one. 

Yet  be  not  disheartened,  anxious  mother.  Take  home 
one  consolation  —  your  darlings  wiU  never  die  of  laziness. 
Restrain  them  wisely,  but,  by  all  means,  do  not  govern  them 
too  much.  And  be  assured,  that,  when  they  have  outgrown 
their  days  of  mischief,  with  the  blessing  of  the  good  Lord, 
you  will  have  something  out  of  them  for  which  you  may  well 
be  thankful. 


10 


IV 

UNREASONABLE    DEMANDS 

THAT  human  nature  is  human  nature  all  the  world  over  is 
a  self-evident  truth;  and  that  human  nature  is  not  angelic 
nature  is  no  less  plain.  Whatever  pretensions  it  set  forth,  and 
whatever  unctuous  lips  may  laud  it,  it  will,  when  closely  scru- 
tinized, exhibit  the  same  unchanging  characteristics  —  weak- 
ness, fallibility,  perverseness. 

To  expect  absolute  perfection,  therefore,  is  simply  to  expect 
the  impossible.  Why,  then,  is  it  looked  for  in  a  minister's 
wife  ?  Is  she  not  included  in  the  race  ?  Does  she  not  belong 
to  mankind? 

It  may  do  as  a  matter  of  poetry  and  gallantry  to  explain 
'Hhe  weaker  vessel"  as  meaning  that  she  is  made  of  finer 
material.  But  when  we  come  to  the  prose,  the  real  gist  of  the 
question,  it  is  another  thing.  Even  if  we  could  be  oblivious 
of  the  Sacred  Record,  man's  frequent  and  pointed  allusions 
would  preclude  ignorance  of  the  fact  that  the  tempter 

"Into  fraud 
Led  Eve,  our  credulous  mother,  to  the  tree 
Of  prohibition,  root  of  all  our  woe." 

Now,  since  the  minister's  wife  is  a  lineal  descendant  from 
our  great-grandmother,  why  is  it  that  just  here  is  expected  the 
unattainable  ?  Yet  you  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that 
there  are  those  who  believe  that  a  veritable  angel  should  be 
let  down  from  paradise  for  the  special  purpose  of  officiating 
as  madam  of  their  parish. 

A  doctor's  wife  has  no  responsibiUty  in  respect  to  her  hus- 
band's patients ;  a  lawyer's  wife  has  none  in  respect  to  her 
husband's  clients.  But  the  minister's  wife  is  regarded  as  owing 
special  and  important  duties  to  all  and  to  each  of  her  husband's 
parishioners.  There  are  multitudes  who  consider  themselves 
entitled  to  find  in  this  piece  of  humanity  a  combination  of  all  the 
virtues  in  the  calendar.  With  vigor  of  body  and  mind,  and 
with  soundness  of  head  and  heart,  she  must  possess  unfaltering 

146 


UNREASONABLE    DEMANDS  147 

courage,  unexampled  humility,  untiring  patience,  unswerving 
fidelity,  unflagging  zeal,  unfailing  prudence,  and  unexhausted 
and  inexhaustible  sweetness  of  temper.  She  must  be  at  once 
a  model  of  liberality  and  a  model  of  frugality.  She  must  be 
endowed  with  that  tact  which  never  gives  offense,  and  with 
that  faculty — the  Yankee  term  for  savoir  faire — which  can 
make  a  great  deal  out  of  little  and  much  out  of  nothing,  and 
which  no  kind  or  amount  of  difficulties  can  possibly  baffle. 

She  must  be  an  accomplished  lady,  always  on  hand  for  par- 
lor company,  and  an  efficient  drudge,  always  on  hand  for 
kitchen  operations.  She  and  her  household  must  always  be  clad 
in  fine  scarlet, — never  too  fine,  or  woe  betide  her, — though 
to  accomplish  this  she  is  not  unfrequently  obliged  to  resort  to 
a  brain  full  of  contrivance  and  a  purse  full  of  emptiness. 

She  may  be  young  and  inexperienced  ;  but  for  all  that  she 
must  preside  in  the  prayer-meetings,  in  the  sewing  circles,  and 
in  all  the  benevolent  associations.  She  may  have  a  flock  of 
little  ones  to  tie  her  at  home,  yet  she  must  always  be  visiting 
the  sick,  and  always  looking  after  the  well.  She  may  be  the 
teacher  of  her  children,  besides  making  and  mending  every  one 
of  their  garments,  yet  she  must  hospitably  entertain  all  the 
angels,  alias  agents,  who  may  travel  that  way,  and  whom  the 
doctors,  the  "  squires,"  and  the  brethren  in  general  do  not 
find  it  quite  convenient  to  accommodate.  She  must  do  this,  too, 
without  running  a  farthing  into  debt.  With  general  courtesy 
to  all,  she  may  yet  desire  to  be  on  terms  of  more  intimate 
acquaintance  with  two  or  three  families.  But  this  must  not 
be  thought  of  for  a  single  moment ;  for  it  would  never  do  for 
the  minister's  wife  to  prefer  one  before  another. 

She  must  fill  up  all  the  shortcomings  of  her  husband,  atone 
for  all  his  offenses,  and  be  the  scape-goat  for  the  greater  part 
of  his  blunders.  In  brief,  she  must  do  everything  in  the  right 
place,  at  the  right  time,  and  in  the  right  mannner.  And  if 
there  be  any  excellence  I  have  failed  to  enumerate,  that  excel- 
lence she  must  by  no  means  fail  to  possess.  Moreover,  her 
children  must  be  little  specimens  of  the  same  immaculate 
character,  perfect  patterns  of  childish  propriety,  walking 
miniatures  of  herself.  In  fact,  they  too  must  be  let  down 
from  paradise,  as  a  special  example  to  the  parish  juveniles. 


148  THE    PASTOR    AT    HOME 

The  following  advertisement  is  a  poetic  summary  of  what 
is  often  looked  for  : 

'^  Wanted  —  a  perfect  lady, 
Delicate,  gentle,  refined, 
With  every  beauty  of  person, 

And  every  endowment  of  mind ; 
Fitted  by  early  culture 

To  move  in  fashionable  life, 

And  shine  a  gem  in  the  parlor : 

Wanted  —  a  minister's  wife ! 

■ 
''Wanted  —  a  thorough-bred  worker, 
Who  well  to  her  household  looks  — 
Shall  we  see  our  money  wasted 
By  extravagant  Irish  cooks  ? 
Who  cuts  the  daily  expenses 

With  economy  sharp  as  a  knife, 
And  washes  and  scrubs  in  the  kitchen : 
Wanted —  a  minister's  wife ! 

''  A  '  very  domestic  person '  ; 

To  callers  she  must  not  be  out  — 
It  has  such  a  bad  appearance 

For  her  to  be  gadding  about  ; 
Only  to  visit  the  parish 

Every  year  of  her  life, 
And  attend  the  funerals  and  weddings : 

Wanted  —  a  minister's  wife." 

Consider  the  monntain-weight  of  responsibility  which  these 
requisitions  throw  upon  the  minister!  He  may  meet  with 
one  whose  beauty  and  grace  strike  his  fancy,  and  whose 
modest  virtues  are  fitted  to  win  his  heart.  But  he  must  not 
fall  in  love  like  other  men.  Before  the  smallest  ripple  of 
affection  is  suffered  to  agitate  his  being,  he  must  ascertain 
whether  she  would  prove  an  efficient  manager  of  a  Dorcas 
society.  He  should  not  seek  a  wife  to  sympathize  in  his 
tastes  and  charm  his  weary  hours,  but  one  who  can  preside 
with  equanimity  in  a  social  meeting.  It  might  shorten  his 
trial  were  the  lady  elect,  before  he  is  fully  committed  to  her, 
to  spend  a  month  on  probation  among  his  people. 

A  minister's  wife,  in  one  of  our  country  parishes,  took  the 
liberty  to  wear  some  of  the  female  vanities  of  the  day.  "  The 
gossip-pot  seethed  and  bubbled  with  this  for  a  few  months, 


UNREASONABLE    DEMANDS  149 

and  finally  boiled  over.  One  of  the  deacons  'felt  it  to  be  his 
duty '  to  call  upon  the  pastor,  and  explain  the  gi-eat  and  general 
feeling  of  disapproval  which  existed  of  the  good  wife's  dress 
and  ways ;  and  having  the  field  clear,  he  spent  a  half -hour  or  so 
in  details,  winding  up  with  the  clincher, '  We  don't  like  her,  sir ; 
in  fact,  we  don't  approve  of  her ! '  '  She  suits  me,  su*,—  good- 
morning,'  was  the  mild  and  only  reply;  upon  which,  as  upon 
an  exploding  torpedo,  the  caller  left !  This  was  a '  short  answer,' 
which,  if  it  did  n't  turn  away  '  wrath,'  it  did  the  deacon." 

But  it  may  be  asked  what  claims  the  society  has  upon  the 
ministei-'s  wife.  That  must  depend  upon  the  compact  between 
her  and  them.  What  salary  do  they  pay  her?  If  they  make 
a  certain  appropriation,  with  the  understanding  that  they  are 
to  be  requited  by  value  received  in  her  labors  among  them, 
she  is  under  manifest  obligation  to  meet  this  requisition.  If 
they  make  no  such  appropriation,  she  is  legally  fi-ee  from  all 
responsibility. 

Do  you  ask  again  what  then  does  the  minister's  wile  owe 
her  husband's  people^?  *Most  emphaticaUy  I  answer,  nothing. 
LegaUy,  she  is  as  free  from  all  obligation  to  the  society  as 
if  she  lived  in  Beloochistan. 

But  there  is  a  higher  view.  From  sympathy  with  her  hus- 
band in  his  ministerial  work  — the  noblest  ever  given  man  to 
do  — she  owes  his  people  any  such  labors  as  she  can  give 
consistently  with  those  home  duties  which  are  always  para- 
mount. She  owes  them  exactly  what  every  other  Christian 
woman  in  the  parish  owes  them  —the  influence  of  her  character 
and  example,  in  favor  of  all  that  is  noble  and  good  and  true. 

But  whatever  services  she  may  render,  either  directly  or 
indirectly,  they  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  in  the  least  degree 
professional  or  official  services.  Her  influence  differs  from 
that  of  any  other  woman  only  as  it  is  more  broadly  extended. 
Brought  into  frequent  contact  with  all  grades  of  society,  her 
lines  of  influence  are  indefinitely  multiplied,  and  all  the 
womanly  excellence  wrought  into  her  life  may  thus  be  more 
widely  mirrored  forth.  The  beautiful  example,  as  a  wife  and 
mother,  which  we  so  admire  in  Victoria,  derives  its  pecuHar 
potencv,  not  from  her  being  queen,  but  from  the  fact  that,  as 
queen,  \he  luster  of  her  character  in  these  private  relations 
shines  forth  upon  the  whole  world. 


150  THE    PASTOR   AT    HOME 

But  some  one  will  urge  that  the  minister's  position  certainly 
involves  his  wife  in  social  relations  and  duties  more  numerous 
and  onerous  than  those  of  ordinary  women.  The  millionaire, 
the  leader  of  fashion,  the  successful  politician  who  becomes  an 
office-holder,  the  famous  artist  or  litterateur,  every  man  who 
occupies  a  prominent  social  position,  may  be  said  to  involve 
his  wife  in  social  relations  numerous  and  onerous.  The  dif- 
ference between  these  wives  and  the  minister's  wife  is,  that  of 
the  first  society  makes  requests,  and  they  grant  favors ;  of  the 
second  society  makes  demands,  and  she  feels  obligated  to  per- 
form duties.  It  is  because  she  fears  to  assert  herself,  lest  she 
may  injure  her  husband's  influence. 

Some  pertinent  extracts  follow,  from  an  article  entitled 
'^  Common  Sense  for  Ministers'  Wives  " : 

"  How  startled  was  I  when  all  my  two  hundred,  and  fifty  most  intimate 
friends,  and  their  fathers,  mothers,  uncles,  aunts,  and  cousins  to  the  fifth 
degree,  opened  on  me  with  the  question,  '  How  shall  you  like  being  a 
minister's  wife  ? ' 

*'  Is  it  strange  that  I  began  to  wonder  that  I  had  never  before  known 
how  different  a  minister's  wife  must  be  from  other  women  ?  Born  and 
brought  up  in  a  lawyer's  home,  having  no  theological  relatives,  I  had 

never  been  behind  the  scenes,  and  Mrs.  A ,  Mrs.  B ,  and  Mrs.  C , 

the  wives  of  my  various  pastors,  had  always  seemed  to  me  made  of  ordi- 
nary flesh  and  bones.     .     .     . 

"  Like  every  other  person,  the  minister's  wife  has  her  home  duties  and 
her  outside  duties.  Of  these,  the  home  duties  should  first  be  discharged, 
and  one  of  the  most  imperative  is  to  Iceep  sacred  the  household  j^^ivacy. 

"  If  there  are  two  books  anywhere  that  have  the  power  to  make  me  boil 
over  with  indignation,  '  Sunnyside '  and  '  Shadyside '  are  two  such.  As  a 
child  I  wept  over  them  both,  and  even  now  I  cannot  but  love  and  admire 
the  Sunnyside  wife.  But  how  large  a  part  of  the  sorrows  endured  in  those 
parsonages  was  due  to  the  simple  fact  that  the  ministers'  families  allowed 
themselves  to  be  considered  public  property ! 

'^Affirming  that  the  pastor's  wife  should  boldly  and  persistently  claim 
all  the  privileges  of  home  sanctity  and  secrecy,  keeping  her  doors  barred 
and  bolted  against  every  intrusion  with  just  as  free  a  conscience  as  any 
other  refined  woman,  I  lay  down  the  general  principle  that  duties  are 
determined  by  opportunities ;  the  greater  a  person's  opportunities,  the 
larger  the  responsibility  and  more  numerous  the  duties  involved. 

"  This  principle  is  binding  on  a  minister's  wife  just  as  much  as,  and  no 
more  than,  on  any  other  Christian  woman.  What  her  opportunities  are 
must  be  decided  by  herself,  and  not  by  her  congregation,  who  will  have 
enough  to  do  in  deciding  upon  their  own." 


V 
A  WORD  WITH  MRS.  GRUNDY 

A  GENERAL  association  was  once  formed  in  London  for 
the  suppression  of  vice.  A  humorous  clergyman  pres- 
ent, who  had  probably  been  annoyed  by  meddlesome  parish- 
ioners, suggested  the  importance  of  a  society  for  the  suppres- 
sion of  ad-vice. 

No  Protestant  would  avowedly  dispute  every  man's  right  to 
act  according  to  his  own  conscience.  Yet  there  prevails  a  kind 
of  Popish  interference  entirely  at  variance  with  this  right. 
Somebody  is  always  setting  up  a  standard  for  somebody  else, 
or  attempting  to  square  another's  conduct  according  to  his 
own  notions. 

'^  We  ought  to  draw  some  line  of  distinction  between  the 
church  and  the  world/'  remarks  Mrs.  A,  ^'  and  that  line  I  make 
artificial  flowers." 

So,  with  zeal  worthy  of  a  better  cause,  she  labors  to  bring 
her  neighbors  to  her  stand-point ;  and  by  and  by  we  have  a 
clique  who  pronounce  the  wearing  of  flowers  inconsistent  with 
the  religious  profession.  To  all  intents  and  purposes  they 
constitute  themselves  an  Anti- Artificial  Flowers  Association, 
distributing  their  sermons  and  their  censures  ad  Uhitum. 

Some  make  curling  or  crimping  the  hair  the  point  of 
departure  from  spirituality ;  others  fix  upon  gay  ribbons  and 
feathers,  and  others  still  upon  frills  and  flounces.  Some  go 
out  on  a  crusade  against  one  form  of  amusement  and  some 
against  another,  directing  their  linguistic  batteries  each  against 
his  own  point  of  attack. 

Thus  standards  are  set  up  as  a  code  of  morals,  and  a  rule  of 
Christian  life,  which  are  purely  arbitrary.  If  you,  my  good 
friend,  have  a  warrant  for  denouncing  curls,  why  have  not  I 
an  equal  one  for  denouncing  braids  ?  If  you  feel  bound  to 
make  war  upon  chess,  why  should  you  complain  if  I  make  war 
upon  checkers  ? 

151 


152  THE    PASTOR   AT    HOME 

There  always  have  been  differences  of  opinion  on  ethical  as 
well  as  on  political  and  theological  subjects,  and  so  long  as 
human  nature  remains  unchanged,  these  differences  will  con- 
tinue. Paul  insists  on  rights  of  conscience,  and  sternly 
rebukes  the  censorious  intermeddler.  ^'Who  art  thou  that 
judgest  another  man's  servant?  to  his  own  master  he  stand- 
eth  or  falleth."  The  Church  is  founded  on  a  common  faith,  a 
common  love,  and  not  on  cases  of  conscience.  Broad  general 
principles  are  laid  down  in  Scripture  for  our  guidance,  and 
every  one  should  be  allowed  to  make  the  application  for  him- 
self. This  man  is  given  to  reflection,  that  one  to  activity ; 
one  is  of  the  ascetic  and  another  of  the  epicurean  school ;  one 
is  a  conservative  and  the  other  a  radical.  Where  the  Divine 
Word  is  explicit,  all  classes  are  equally  bound ;  but  where  it 
leaves  the  decision  to  conscience,  an  ample  margin  should  be 
allowed  for  diversity  of  opinion. 

We  are  entitled  to  free  discussion  on  any  and  all  points, 
but  we  have  no  more  right  to  lay  down  a  specific  regimen  for 
our  neighbor,  and  press  it  upon  his  observance,  than  he  has 
to  do  this  by  us.  A  loving  watchfulness  is  included  in  the 
idea  of  covenant,  and  is  a  high  Christian  duty.  But  such 
interference  as  I  refer  to  is  contrary  alike  to  the  spirit  of 
Protestantism  and  to  the  genius  of  Christianity.  Whatever 
you  can  properly  do  to  increase  the  spirituality  and  stimulate 
the  zeal  of  your  Christian  brother  and  sister,  that  it  is  well 
for  you  to  do.  But  you  have  no  more  right  to  dictate  how 
their  hair  shall  be  worn,  in  what  amusements  they  are  at 
liberty  to  indulge,  and  the  number  of  meetings  they  ought  to 
attend,  than  how  many  hours  they  should  sleep,  and  at  what 
time  they  should  take  their  meals. 

Your  disposition,  it  may  be,  is  a  morose  one ;  consequently, 
when  you  happen  in  the  company  of  some  brother  who  pos- 
sesses a  great  flow  of  animal  spirits,  and  who  never  appears 
without  bringing  rays  of  sunlight  and  breezes  of  merriment, 
you  are  inclined  to  discharge  volleys  of  rebuke  upon  his 
head.  Or,  you  are  one  of  the  irrepressibles,  overflowing  with 
fun,  and  are  disposed  to  ridicule,  if  not  censure,  your  graver 
brother.  "  Happy  is  he  who  condemneth  not  himself  in  that 
thing  which  he  alloweth.  Let  every  man  be  fully  persuaded 
in  his  own  mind." 


A    WORD    TO    MRS.   GRUNDY  153 

But  many  are  not  willing  to  leave  things  at  such  loose  ends. 
They  prefer  to  try  every  man  on  that  Procrustean  bed  which 
seems  destined  never  to  wear  out.  Particularly  are  they 
given  to  stretching  clergymen  and  their  families  upon  it.  He 
must  not  harbor  any  local  attachment,  for  he  is  a  clergyman ; 
his  only  care  must  be  for  "being  in  general."  He  must  not 
indulge  in  healthful  amusement,  for  he  is  a  clergyman,  and 
his  thoughts  must  be  above  the  world. 

"  It  is  in  the  church/'  says  Mr.  Curtis,  in  "  The  Easy  Chair," 
"  that  Mrs.  Grundy  nods  supreme,  and  holds  highest  her  vii-- 
tuous  hands  of  horror.  She  does  not  permit  the  clergyman 
to  do  what  he  thinks  right  and  best,  but  insists  upon  what  she 
thinks  he  ought  to  think  right  and  best.  The  very  person  she 
has  invited  to  take  charge  of  her  is  the  very  one  she  will  not 
suffer  to  do  this,  that,  or  the  other.  Why  don't  the  ministers 
break  Mrs.  Grundy's  head  ? " 

A  question  easily  asked,  yet  to  do  the  deed  would  be  very 
far  from  easy.  When  the  lords  of  Vanity  Fair  break  the  head 
of  fashionable  Mrs.  Grundy,  then,  and  not  before,  the  combined 
clergy  may  attempt  the  same  with  pious  Mrs.  Grundy.  For 
the  present  there  seems  no  escape  from  her  arrogant  comments 
and  her  intermeddling  fingers. 

"  Don't  you  ever  have  any  new  dresses  ?"  asks  a  parish  juve- 
nile of  one  of  the  parsonage  children.  "  And,  for  pity's  sake, 
why  don't  your  mother  get  you  a  new  hat,  instead  of  letting 
you  wear  that  shabby  old  thing  that  looks  as  if  it  came  out  of 
the  ark?" 

Miss  Briggs,  a  seamstress,  who  has  been  working  in  the 
minister's  family,  is  assailed  by  one  of  the  flock  : 

"Do  tell  if  Mr.  Gilbert  has  to  wait  on  his  wife  the  whole 
time." 

"  On  the  contrary,  it 's  she  that  waits  on  him." 

"  So  they  've  got  hold  of  the  wrong  one,  and  it 's  she  that 's 
the  slave  ? " 

"It's  nothing  of  the  sort;  she  does  it  of  her  own  free 
wiU." 

"  Their  last  girl,  Debby  Ann,  let  out  a  sight  of  strange  things 
about  the  family." 

"  I  suppose  you  took  the  liberty  of  catechizing  her,  did  n't 
you?" 


154  THE    PASTOR    AT    HOME 

'^  Of  course  I  did ;  I  think  we  've  got  a  perfect  right  to  know 
what 's  going  on  in  the  minister's  family." 

Evidently  many  consider  the  pastor's  wife  as  under  their 
special  watch  and  care.  Some  complain  if  she  wears  long 
di-esses,  and  some  if  she  wears  short  ones ;  some,  if  she  wears 
a  large  bonnet ;  some,  if  she  wears  a  small  one ;  and  some,  if 
she  wears  neither,  but,  instead,  a  fashionable  top-knot.  Some 
take  offense  if  she  wears  flounces,  frilling,  quilling,  plaiting, 
or  whatever  happens  to  be  the  rage ;  and  others,  if  she  does 
not  wear  it.  Thus  she  is  equally  liable  to  censure,  whether 
she  chances  to  be  in  or  out  of  fashion. 

A  minister's  wife  who  wore  a  flounced  dress  was  visited 
one  day  by  a  couple  of  ladies,  who  protested  against  minis- 
terial flounces.  Quietly  leaving  the  room,  she  presently  re- 
turned with  the  dress,  and  handing  each  of  them  a  pair  of 
scissors,  requested  them  to  rip  off  the  offending  flounces,  and 
then  excused  herself  to  finish  her  baking.  When  she  returned 
the  parlor  was  empty  and  the  flounces  untouched. 

This  story  calls  to  mind  that  of  the  good  woman  who  went 
to  her  bishop,  and  complained  that  his  bands  were  too  long. 
Giving  her  some  scissors,  he  told  her  to  cut  them  off  to  suit 
her  own  ideas.  This  she  did,  upon  which  he  asked  if,  in 
return,  he  might  cut  off  something  she  wore,  which  he  con- 
sidered too  long.  She  could,  of  course,  do  nothing  but  assent, 
whereupon  he  took  the  scissors,  saying  to  her, ''  Then,  madam, 
hold  out  your  tongue." 

Some  extend  their  supervision  beyond  the  externals,  one 
objecting  to  madam's  reading  in  foreign  tongues,  and  another 
to  her  reading  a  great  deal  in  her  own ;  one  finding  fault  if 
she  gives  much  time  to  music,  and  another  if  she  gives  much 
to  drawing.  And  worse  than  this,  if  she  should  be  guilty  of 
writing  anything  for  the  press,  it  is  whispered  about  the 
parish  that  her  husband  and  children  are  grossly  neglected, 
and  going  to  destruction. 

There  are  those  who,  from  their  actions,  would  seem  to  be 
lawfully  constituted  overseers  of  their  pastor's  family.  It  is 
a  part  of  their  daily  business  to  furnish  a  bulletin  of  all  that 
is  going  on  within  it.  The  bars  which  exclude  the  world 
from  other  homes  are  in  this  case  broken  down,  or  climbed 


A    WORD    TO    MRS.   GRUNDY  155 

over.  The  whole  household  is  under  espionage,  its  servants 
being  suborned  as  reporters,  and  for  other  police  duties,  while 
even  little  children  are  put  into  the  witness-box. 

Thus  a  thorough  inspection  is  secured,  and  by  a  system  of 
questioning  and  cross-questioning  every  trifle  is  ferreted  out, 
and  hung  up  before  Mrs.  Grundy's  face  and  eyes  for  her  free 
comment :  how  the  parson's  wife  spends  her  time ;  how  the 
children  behave;  what  the  minister's  salary  was  in  his  last 
settlement ;  what  presents  he  used  to  receive,  and  whether  he 
has  any  money  laid  up ;  what  was  the  cost  of  baby's  blanket ; 
how  madam  came  by  such  a  handsome  cloak  j  what  they  had 
for  dinner  yesterday;  where  in  the  world  they  got  their  piano, 
and  whether  the  ''help"  sits  at  the  first  or  second  table. 

The  last  point  is  one  over  which  there  have  been  some  large 
as  well  as  little  battles.  A  faithful  servant  is  no  small  item 
of  family  comfort.  But  this  comfort  is  sometimes  turned  into 
an  embarrassment  and  a  vexation  by  parish  interference. 
There  are  singular  misconceptions  of  this  whole  subject.  That 
there  is  such  a  thing  as  a  subordinate  relation  in  the  family, 
in  the  school,  and  in  government,  nobody  denies.  But  this 
does  not  necessarily  imply  inferiority.  The  minister  is  far 
from  assuming  that  none  of  his  people  are  as  good  as  he,  be- 
cause of  his  occupancy  of  the  chief  seat  in  the  synagogue. 
And  if  a  boy  fills  the  position  of  clerk,  though  he  be  the  son 
of  a  millionaire,  he  is  expected  to  discharge  the  duties  of  his 
situation,  and  in  times  and  ways  best  suited  to  his  master's 
convenience. 

Just  so  in  domestic  service.  A  girl  in  that  situation  may 
be  entirely  respectable,  may  even  be  a  fellow  church-member ; 
but  does  that  make  it  unsuitable  that  she  should  eat  at  the  sec- 
ond table  ?  The  question  of  superiority  and  inferiority  has 
nothing  to  do  with  it.  It  is  a  matter  of  order,  which  every 
family,  not  excepting  the  minister's,  should  be  allowed  to 
arrange  according  to  its  own  convenience.  And  there  are  often 
the  pleasantest  relations  when  there  is  some  boundary-line  in 
this  intercourse.  In  the  words  of  a  popular  writer :  '"  There 
is  much  less  danger  of  clashing  when  mistress  and  maid  have 
their  orbits  on  different  planes.  Duties  are  far  more  clearly 
defined,  and  relations  far  less  complicated,  and  if  the  maid 


156  THE    PASTOR    AT    HOME 

have  ability,  she  will  gradually  assume  an  almost  command- 
ing position  in  the  household.  She  will  be  less  its  servant 
than  its  friend,  its  care-taker,  honored  and  prized  beyond  what 
money  can  express/' 

Why  should  others  create  disturbance  in  these  relations  by 
their  unwise  interference  ?  For  any  such  parish  intermeddling 
I  cannot  find  a  shadow  of  justification.  What  would  be  im- 
pertinence toward  a  lawyer's  household  is  equally  so  toward 
a  minister's.  He  has  the  same  right  to  judge  for  himself,  and 
to  act  according  to  his  own  convictions,  as  every  other  man. 
He  has,  moreover,  the  right  in  common  with  all  others,  except 
criminals,  to  a  home  sanctuary.  And  if  these  busybodies  in 
other  men's  matters  will  take  the  trouble  to  look  into  the  dic- 
tionary, they  will  find  that  sanctuary  means  '"''  a  sacred  asylum, 
a  place  of  protection  " ;  by  which  I  understand  protection  not 
only  against  intruding  feet,  but  against  prying  eyes  and  back- 
biting tongues. 

But  while  a  protest  is  thus  made  against  encroachment  on 
parsonage  rights,  no  apology  is  offered  for  that  spirit  of  domi- 
nation which  is  sometimes  seen  in  the  minister  toward  his 
parish,  or  in  the  church  to  its  particular  members.  Yet  if  the 
church  insists  on  assuming  this  censorship,  the  question  arises 
how  far  private  tastes  and  judgments  are  to  be  governed  by  it. 
Or  to  be  more  specific,  are  we  bound  to  give  up  amusements, 
that  we  consider  unexceptionable,  because  some  church  mem- 
ber or  members  have  entered  their  caveat  f 

As  a  question  of  mere  abstract  right,  I  should  answer  no. 
But  the  Law  is  one  thing  and  the  Gospel  another.  From  that 
higher  stand-point  of  a  broad  Christian  philanthropy,  the 
question  assumes  a  different  aspect.  By  a  cheerful  sacrifice 
of  any  innocent  enjoyment  or  indulgence  out  of  regard  to  a 
Christian  brother  or  sister,  we  might  often  lose  far  less  than 
we  should  gain.  And  the  quality  of  the  gain  would  be  much 
more  precious  than  that  of  the  loss. 

Yet  we  must  not  yield  unwisely.  Where  we  honestly  believe 
that  injury  would  result  from  the  surrender  of  our  judgment 
to  that  of  others,  it  becomes  a  serious  question  whether  we 
ought  not  to  make  a  stand.  We  are  bound  to  consider,  not 
only  weak  brothers  and  sisters,  but  the  many  Christians  who 


A    WORD    TO    MRS.   GRUNDY  157 

differ  from  them,  and  particularly  those  outsiders  whom  we 
would  gladly  attract,  but  whom  we  are  in  danger  of  repelling 
by  unwarrantably  multiplying  the  number  of  ^^  Thou  shalt 
nots." 

To  draw  these  outsiders  within  our  sphere  of  influence,  we 
should,  in  the  spirit  of  the  apostle,  "  become  all  things  to  all 
men,  that  by  any  means  we  might  save  some."  To  hold  our- 
selves apart  from  worldly  men  for  fear  of  evil  influence  is, 
as  some  one  says,  "as  if  the  salt  should  stand  aloof  from 
the  flesh,  lest  it  should  be  corrupted;  or  as  if  the  light 
should  stand  aloof  from  the  darkness,  lest  it  should  be 
obscured.^' 

It  would  sometimes  seem  a  matter  of  doubt  whether  the 
minister  is  settled  over  the  parish,  or  the  parish  over  the  min- 
ister. This  is  a  point  that  ought  to  be  definitely  understood 
in  the  beginning.  "  I  hear  you  are  about  to  be  settled  over  the 
people  at  Stonington,''  said  a  minister  to  a  brother  clergyman. 
"  Yes,'^  he  replied;  "  if  I  am  settled  there,  I  shall  be  settled  over 
and  not  under  them.'^ 

It  is  related  of  Rev.  John  Hancock,  of  Lexington,  Mass., 
that  when  quite  advanced,  his  two  deacons,  after  consultation 
with  the  church-members,  decided  that  it  was  desirable  to 
put  some  check  upon  their  minister.  So  they  called  at  his 
house,  and  proposed  that  ruling  elders  should  be  appointed 
to  divide  his  cares  with  him.  He  meekly  assented  to  their 
proposition,  thanking  them  for  their  consideration,  and  ex- 
pressing the  hope  that  they  themselves  might  be  the  ones 
chosen  to  this  work. 

Encouraged  by  his  pliability,  they  told  him  that  he,  as  a 
learned  man,  was  the  most  competent  person  to  decide  on  the 
duties  of  the  elders. 

"  Yes,"  he  replied ;  "  I  have  studied  ecclesiastical  history  a 
great  deal,  and  I  think  I  know  just  what  such  elders  ought  to 
do.  I  should  like  to  have  one  of  them  come  up  to  my  house 
before  meeting  on  Sunday,  and  get  my  horse  out  of  the  barn, 
and  saddle  him,  and  bring  him  up  to  the  door,  and  hold  the 
stirrup  while  I  get  on.  The  other  may  wait  at  the  church 
door,  and  hold  him  while  I  get  off ;  then  after  meeting  he  may 
bring  him  up  to  the  steps.'^ 


158  THE    PASTOR    AT    HOME 

Some  parishioners  seem  to  regard  themselves  as  having  a 
kind  of  right  over  their  minister,  as  voters  over  the  repre- 
sentative. One  pastor  is  dismissed,  because  in  theological 
opinions  he  is  ^'  Old  School,"  and  another  because  he  is  ^'  New 
School'^ ;  one  because  he  is  a  Republican,  and  another  because 
he  is  a  Democrat;  one  because,  though  an  earnest  man  of 
God,  he  differs  from  some  of  his  people  as  to  the  best  means 
of  promoting  temperance,  and  another  because  he  does  not 
agree  with  all  his  people  on  the  difficult  subject  of  amusements. 

'^I  have  nothing  against  Mr.  A,"  says  a  church-member, 
"but  I  don't  relish  his  extempore  preaching.  I  do  wish 
he  would  study  more,  for  I  like  to  be  fed  when  I  go  to 
church.'' 

^^  Why  can't  Mr.  B  dispense  with  his  written  sermons,  and 
trust  to  the  inspiration  of  the  moment  ?  I  am  tired  of  those 
everlasting  ^  notes.' " 

*^  I  wish  Mr.  C  was  a  smarter  man.  He  is  not  up  to  this 
place  and  never  will  be,  and  his  removal  is  simply  a  question 
of  time." 

"If  Mr.  D  were  only  a  pastor,  we  might  get  along j  but  his 
calls  are  like  angels'  visits,  few  and  far  between." 

"  Mr.  E's  sermons  are  getting  altogether  too  doctrinal,  and 
no  church  can  flourish  on  such  preaching." 

"  Mr.  F  goes  off  into  all  the  topics  of  the  day.  For  my  part, 
I  think  a  minister  ought  to  confine  himself  mostly  to  doctrinal 
preaching." 

"  Of  late,  Mr.  G  gives  us  nothing  but  expository  sermons, 
and  he  is  emptying  the  church.  How  I  long  for  something 
spiritual ! " 

Is  not  this  a  fair  specimen  of  the  criticism  that  goes  on  in 
many  of  our  churches?  It  is  spoken  thoughtlessly,  without 
doubt,  but  the  mischief  is  aU  the  same. 

And  what  is  the  minister  to  do  ?  For  kind,  judicious  sug- 
gestions he  is  always  grateful,  and  a  general  spontaneous 
impression  will  have  great  weight  with  him.  But  who  knows 
so  well  as  he  what  his  people  need,  and  how  to  give  each  his 
portion  in  due  season?  And  when  he  has  prayerfully  decided 
what  is  best  for  them,  shall  he  veer  at  every  breath  like  the 
vane  on  his  steeple  ?    Is  the  shepherd  to  be  led  by  his  flock, 


A    WORD    TO    MRS.   GRUNDY  159 

or  is  he  to  lead  them  ?     Indeed,  was  it  not  precisely  to  be  their 
leader  that  he  was  ordained  over  them  ? 

But  many  a  parishioner  forgets  this,  and,  instead  of  a  broad 
consideration  for  the  whole  church,  sets  up  his  own  individual 
feeling  and  judgment  as  the  standard  of  his  duty.  It  is  this 
narrow  view  that  often  leads  to  criticisms  like  those  given, 
and  which  have  the  effect  to  loosen  the  minister's  hold  upon 
his  church.  Says  one :  '^  If  you  cannot  conscientiously  class 
your  pastor,  as  you  ought,  among  your  dearest  personal  friends, 
to  stab  whose  reputation  would  be  to  wound  yourself,  then 
class  him  among  your  enemies,  and  fulfill  the  Lord's  command 
to  pray  for  him." 


VI 

PARISH  COURTESIES 

NOTWITHSTANDING-  aU  that  is  said  respecting-  the  lack 
of  comforts  in  many  a  parsonage,  in  the  majority  of  par- 
ishes there  are  considerate  persons  who  have  the  welfare  and 
enjoyment  of  their  minister's  family  very  much  at  heart.  Nor 
are  these  by  any  means  exclusively  among  the  richer  members  j 
for  numberless  little  kindnesses  are  rendered  with  scarcely 
any  expense  or  labor  except  that  of  thought. 

In  the  spring  a  bunch  of  crocuses,  trailing  arbutus,  or  vio- 
lets often  finds  its  bright  and  perfumed  way  into  the  parson- 
age. Later,  June  roses  follow  in  the  same  direction,  and  by 
and  by  the  brilliant  autumn  flowers  —  all  on  the  same  pleasant 
errand. 

In  the  strawberry,  raspberry,  peach,  and  plum  season,  the 
little  folks  clap  their  hands  over  the  fragrant  baskets  that 
come  knocking  at  the  parsonage  door ;  and  you  may  be  sure 
that  many  a  minister's  family  has  a  share  in  the  golden  har- 
vests, to  say  nothing  of  the  big  Thanksgiving  turkeys  and  the 
delicious  pies  that  make  a  sly  entrance  under  their  roof. 

At  Christmas,  too,  that  day  of  gifts,  there  are  parish  trees 
bearing  among  them  twelve  manners  of  fruit  for  the  gladden- 
ing of  the  parsonage  5  while  the  fleece  of  some  fat  member  of 
the  flock  is  worked  into  a  coat  or  cloak  for  the  faithful  shepherd. 

Ah,  yes  !  many  are  the  ways  in  which  the  comfort  and  cheer 
of  good  carnal  things  are  brought  to  him  who  is  freely  giving 
out  his  spiritual  things.  Thoughtful  parishioners  there  are, 
who  not  unfrequently  remember  him  and  his  family  in  their 
walks  and  rides  and  sails,  and  in  their  little  summer  excursions. 
Some  think  of  their  pastor  when  planning  who  shall  attend 
the  annual  meetings  of  the  American  Board,  general  associa- 
tions, conventions,  or  other  church  gatherings ;  some,  when 
they  are  subscribing  for  magazines  and  reviews ;  while  now 
and  then  we  hear  of  a  smaU  legacy  left  his  pastor  by  some 
considerate  member  of  the  parish.    Indeed,  in  great  and  small 

160 


PARISH    COURTESIES  161 

ways  too  numerous  to  mention,  there  are  some  who  never  for- 
get their  minister.    Verily,  they  shall  not  lose  their  reward. 

In  a  social  gathering  in  one  of  our  cities,  a  gentleman 
remarked,  '^  We  laymen  lose  a  great  deal,  probably  more  than 
we  know,  in  not  treating  our  ministers  as  they  ought  to  be 
treated."  He  illustrated  this  admission  by  a  story  concerning 
one  John  Scott  of  Delaware,  who  planted  on  a  certain  year  a 
hundred  acres  of  corn.  It  was  a  dry  season,  and  no  rain  fell. 
In  the  midst  of  the  drought,  however,  there  came  a  shower 
just  large  enough  to  water  this  man's  hundred  acres.  His 
neighbors  failed  to  catch  any  of  the  precious  drops,  and  lost 
their  corn.  But  they  found  a  solution  for  the  seeming  enigma 
of  John  Scott's  singular  good  fortune  in  the  fact  that  he  was 
in  the  habit  of  feeding  the  minister's  horses.  "  And  if  such  a 
blessing  follows  feeding  ministers'  horses,^^  infers  the  layman, 
"  what  must  come  from  feeding  ministers  themselves  ?  The 
more  we  give,  the  more  will  come  back  to  us." 

This  is  introduced  as  a  good  story.  But  while  we  must 
have  entire  faith  in  the  Scripture  doctrine,  "Give  and  it 
shall  be  given  you,"  we  are  not  obliged  to  accept  the  conclu- 
sion that  John  Scott  caught  all  the  precious  drops  because 
he  alone  had  cared  for  the  minister's  horses. 

At  funerals,  in  some  places,  it  is  customary  to  present  the 
minister  with  a  pair  of  black  kid  gloves,  while  his  attentions 
to  the  departed  in  their  sickness  are  often  generously  remem- 
bered. Sometimes  he  receives  a  more  substantial  recognition 
of  his  services.  A  clergyman  of  nearly  half  a  century's  expe- 
rience writes  that  "he  knows  both  the  shady  and  the  sunny  side 
of  the  question  about  compensation."  From  some  wealthy 
families,  for  whom  he  has  performed  most  service,  and  at 
most  expenditure  in  this  line,  he  has  received  no  token  of 
acknowledgment  and  appreciation  beyond  an  easy  "  Thanks," 
and  maybe  a  pair  of  gloves ;  but  by  others  he  has  been  treated 
very  generously,  and  even  munificently,  having  received  ten, 
twenty,  and  at  two  different  times  a  hundred  doUars  each  for 
his  services  at  funerals. 

A  pleasant  instance  has  come  to  my  knowledge,  of  a  pastor 
who  received  a  hundred-dollar  bill  from  a  lady,  not  of  his 
society,  as  an  expression  of  her  warm  appreciation  of  his 
11 


162  THE    PASTOR    AT    HOME 

kindness  to  her  relative,  his  late  parishioner.  This  act  was, 
doubtless,  no  less  grateful  to  the  giver  than  to  the  receiver. 

The  question  of  funeral  fees  has  been  debated  in  the  public 
prints,  and  many  pros  and  cons  have  been  summoned.  Most 
ministers  would,  doubtless,  object  to  a  prescribed  fee,  and 
there  are  few  who  would  not  decline  to  take  anything  from 
those  of  limited  means.  But  why  should  not  wealthy  people 
be  allowed  to  make  some  suitable  acknowledgment  of  these 
last  services  rendered  to  their  dear  ones,  not  only  as  a  tribute 
to  the  departed,  but  as  a  gratification  to  their  own  feelings  ? 
Such  acknowledgments  being  honorable  to  the  giver,  and  in 
no  way  a  discredit  to  the  receiver,  would  it  not  seem  ungracious 
to  decline  them  ? 

No  one,  certainly,  will  question  the  propriety  of  remember- 
ing the  minister  at  funerals  to  such  a  degree,  at  least,  as  shall 
save  him  from  tramping  two  or  three  miles  on  foot  in  the  heat 
of  summer  or  the  cold  of  winter  to  perform  such  a  service, 
and  possibly  to  the  permanent  injury  of  his  health,  as  has 
happened  in  some  cases  within  my  knowledge. 

Another  way  in  which  the  minister  is  not  unfrequently 
remembered  to  his  particular  advantage  is  in  the  wedding- 
fees.    Yet  these  are  sometimes  grudgingly  doled  out. 

"  What 's  the  damage,  dominie  ?  '^  asked  a  delving  Dutchman 
of  the  minister  who  had  just  officiated  at  his  marriage.  "  I 
can  tell  that  better,  sir,  a  year  hence.^^ 

"  What  do  you  charge  1 "  said  a  young  man  to  the  clergy- 
man who  had  just  tied  the  hymeneal  knot  for  him.  "  I  make 
no  charge,  sir ;  you  can  give  what  you  please."  Handing  a 
dollar-bill,  the  man  inquired,  ''Will  that  doT'  "Yes;  but  I 
hope  your  wife  will  prove  worth  more  than  a  dollar." 

As  an  offset  to  these  anecdotes  may  be  told  that  of  a  minis- 
ter who  received  from  a  wealthy  bridegroom  a  pair  of  silk 
gloves  as  his  only  fee.  Somewhat  chagrined,  he  threw  them, 
a  little  indignantly,  into  a  drawer.  Several  weeks  after,  when 
seeking  for  some  gloves  in  haste,  he  came  across  this  pair,  and, 
putting  them  on,  found  a  ten-dollar  bill  in  every  finger  and 
thumb. 

The  question  may  be  raised  whether  the  acceptance  by  min- 
isters of  such  gifts  and  courtesies  as  were  alluded  to  in  the 


PAEISH    COURTESIES  1G3 

early  part  of  this  chapter  is  in  any  wise  improper.  But  this 
inquiry  involves  others.  What  is  their  object!  Are  they 
rendered  grudgingly  from  a  sort  of  compulsion  ?  Are  they 
offered  in  the  way  of  patronage !  In  either  case,  if  that  is 
understood,  they  cannot  be  acceptable,  and  ought  not  to  be 
accepted.  But  so  far  as  they  are  a  natural  outflow  of  affection 
and  respect,  why  should  the  minister  have  scruples  in  receiv- 
ing them  ? 

There  is  an  aspect  of  the  question,  however,  that  has  a  much 
deeper  significance,  involving,  as  it  does,  the  character  of  the 
relation  which  the  minister  sustains  to  his  people.  If  this 
relation  were  essentially  the  same  as  that  of  other  men  to  their 
employers,  then  it  might  not  improperly  be  felt  that  the  defray- 
ing his  expenses  to  the  assembly,  or  conference,  or  conven- 
tion, or  synod ;  the  sending  him  to  Saratoga,  or  to  Palestine, 
and  the  bestowing  gifts,  common  or  costly,  upon  him  and  his 
family,  are  all  entirely  uncalled  for,  if  not  intrusive. 

But  is  not  the  ministerial  relation  sui  generis  f  Other 
professional  men  choose  their  own  residence.  And  they  do 
this,  almost  without  exception,  with  sole  reference  to  their 
business  prospects,  while  every  plan  and  proceeding  bears 
toward  the  great  end— success.  And  by  success  is  meant  large 
emoluments. 

The  minister,  on  the  other  hand,  if  true  to  his  vocation, 
goes,  not  where  he  can  make  the  most  money,  but  where  he 
can  do  the  most  good.  He  is  a  laborer  under  the  Divine 
Husbandman,  and  his  work  is  to  sow  seed,  the  harvest 
whereof  cannot  be  measured  in  bushels  and  pecks,  or  its 
value  reckoned  in  dollars  and  cents. 

It  is  this  \deAV  of  his  work  that  makes  the  minister  slow  to 
talk  much  about  his  remuneration,  however  inadequate  it 
may  be.  If  he  has  not  this  view,  if  his  aim  is  like  that  of 
other  professional  men,  he  has  sadly  mistaken  his  calling,  and 
the  sooner  he  leaves  it,  the  better. 

The  builder  and  the  mason,  the  painter  and  the  day-laborer, 
do  their  work  and  receive  their  pay.  That  is  all  there  is  of  it. 
Nothing  depends  on  social  sympathy  or  affinities  of  any  kind. 
The  lawyer  has  certain  intellectual  relations  with  his  clients, 
but  they  are  not  of  a  sort  that  cash  payments  cannot  square. 


164  THE    PASTOR    AT    HOME 

Between  the  teacher  and  his  pupils,  and  the  doctor  and  his 
patients,  a  degree  of  sympathy  is  important  to  the  highest 
success.  And  while  in  these  professions  moral  influence  is 
not  necessarily  involved,  such  an  influence  is  often  exerted. 
In  proportion  as  this  is  the  case  does  the  tie  become  a  close 
one,  while  some  recognition  of  the  kindly  interest  manifested 
on  the  one  hand  becomes  a  sort  of  necessity  on  the  other. 

But  in  the  minister's  relations  to  his  people  there  are  cer- 
tain social  and  moral  elements  which  belong  to  no  other  pro- 
fession. By  virtue  of  their  call,  and  his  settlement  over  them, 
he  becomes  their  pastor,  the  spiritual  shepherd  of  this  flock. 
It  is  his  aim  to  root  out  all  evil  growths,  to  purify  the  heart, 
and,  by  bringing  the  human  will  into  harmony  with  the  Divine, 
to  elevate  and  ennoble  the  whole  being.  In  one  word,  it  is  his 
ofiice  to  guide  men  to  heaven. 

Now,  how  can  this  spiritual  service  be  computed  in  dollars 
and  cents  ?  "  Not  yourSj  but  you."  Yet  it  is  ordained  that 
the  minister  shall  live  of  the  Gospel.  Inasmuch  as  he  is  a 
mortal  man  and  must  eat,  drink,  and  be  clothed,  like  other 
men,  this  spiritual  relation  must  have  a  common-sense  busi- 
ness basis,  including  stipends.  But  although  these  money 
transactions  may  square  the  business  accounts,  they  can  no 
more  represent  the  value  of  the  pastor's  work,  or  his  peculiar 
relation  to  his  flock,  than  the  cash  paid  for  gas  or  kerosene 
could  represent  the  beauty  of  a  poem  of  LongfeUow  or  of 
Whittier  which  has  been  written  by  its  light. 

The  pastoral  relation  is  in  some  sense  entirely  outside  of  all 
metes  and  bounds.  It  is  based  on  aflinities,  on  sympathies,  on 
a  kind  of  magnetism.  What  can  be  more  in  harmony  with 
this  than  those  nameless  attentions,  those  unpriced  gifts,  which 
spring  from  an  affectionate  people  ?  I  do  not  here  allude  to 
so-called  "donations,''  made  to  supplement  an  insufiicient  sal- 
ary, for  all  these  sink  to  mere  business  transactions,  and  are 
not  always  the  most  agreeable  ones  at  that.  I  refer  entirely 
to  a  different  class  of  gifts.  To  have  any  other  than  the  barest 
mercantile  value,  it  is  essential  that  these  gifts  should  be  vol- 
untary. The  moment  they  are  claimed  on  one  side  or  on  the 
other,  yielded  reluctantly  to  some  unwise  though  well-mean- 
ing solicitor,  their  charm  is  gone.     People  should  learn  that 


PARISH    COURTESIES  165 

there  is  an  "eternal  distinction  between  a  tax  ^vrnng,  a  sub- 
scription badgered,  a  compromise  effected,  and  the  sponta- 
neous offering  of  affection.'^ 

"  The  ideal  gift,"  says  one,  '*  is  the  blossoming  of  assured 
love,  or  the  timid  outbreaking  of  a  love  that  craves  assurance. 
It  is  the  giver  who  is  uncertain,  who  is  obliged.  It  is  the 
receiver  who  confers  obligation  and  approved  affection."  In 
the  case  I  am  considering,  these  spontaneous  expressions  of 
the  love  of  his  flock  are  the  fragrant  aroma  exhaled  from  the 
ripening  fruit  of  the  pastoi'^s  husbandry,  the  fair  crystalliza- 
tion of  his  labors.  As  such,  whatever  be  the  intrinsic  value 
of  the  gift,  whether  it  be  a  tapestry  carpet  or  a  linen  curtain, 
a  gold  watch  or  a  glass  inkstand,  a  barrel  of  sugar  or  a  bunch 
of  violets,  it  has  a  value  to  the  pastor  entirely  independent  of 
the  trade-mark. 

When  these  expressions  are  true  exponents  of  the  relation, 
they  indicate,  in  their  practical  influence,  the  most  favorable 
conditions  of  success  in  the  pastor's  great  object,  the  spiritual 
elevation  and  culture  of  his  people.  As  denoting  sympathy 
with  his  work,  as  proofs  of  their  appreciation,  and  often  of 
their  progress,  these  tokens  come  to  him  as  a  precious  reward 
and  encouragement,  thus  serving  as  a  bond  of  union  between 
him  and  them.  Their  grateful  love  to  Christ,  whose  representa- 
tive he  is,  often  seeks  in  this  way  to  find  tangible  expression. 
Their  gifts,  in  no  insignificant  sense,  are  rendered  to  the 
Saviour,  and  as  such,  why  should  they  not  be  accepted  in  the 
same  spirit. 

Whether  they  ought  to  be  translated  into  cash,  and  bruited 
in  the  newspapers  is  another  question.  If  the  donors  desire 
such  publicity,  do  they  not  indicate  that  it  is  a  tribute  to 
themselves  which  they  seek !  If  so,  as  to  any  delicate  sentiment 
their  gift  should  represent,  with  their  own  hand  they  stamp 
it  as  worthless. 

A  pastor  in  a  discourse  to  his  people,  from  whom  he  had 
received  many  tokens  of  affection  and  respect,  says  to  them : 
^'You  have  never  advertised  your  kindnesses  in  the  news- 
papers, nor  have  I,  as  the  manner  of  some  is.  I  have  sometimes 
thought  that  in  this  day,  when  so  many  ministers  and  churches 
seem  fond  of  parading  their  private  relations  and  transactions 


166  THE    PASTOR   AT    HOME 

in  the  columns  of  the  public  journals,  there  might  be  some  of 
you  who  would  wonder  why  the  general  public  was  not  kept 
informed  of  what  this  church  did  for  its  pastor.  Let  me  say, 
once  for  all,  that  the  world  has  been  kept  in  ignorance  of 
many  things  very  precious  to  you  and  mej  first,  because  I 
doubted  whether  it  would  greatly  interest  the  world,  while  it 
might  provoke  some  less  favored  brother  to  envy,  without 
provoking  his  people  to  similar  kindnesses  j  and,  again,  be- 
cause I  shrank  from  advertising  myself  into  notoriety;  but 
chiefly,  because  it  seems  to  me  a  most  ungracious  thing  for  a 
minister  to  make  public  proclamation  that  his  people  have 
done  him  a  kindness,  as  if  it  were  a  thing  they  were  quite 
unused  to  doing.  It  is  too  cheap  a  return, —  this  newspaper 
gratitude  costing  some  shilling  a  line, —  far  too  cheap  a  return 
for  the  gifts  of  a  tender  and  thoughtful  love,  the  only  gifts 
from  people  to  pastor  whose  giving  is  not  an  impertinence, 
and  whose  acceptance  is  not  a  humiliation.'' 

In  a  similar  strain  another  writes:  "It  is  the  gift  made 
under  the  compulsion  of  custom,  the  debt  which  is  labeled 
donation,  that  we  need  to  get  rid  of.  But  distant  be  the 
day  that  shall  see  parishioners  hesitate  to  put  into  the  par- 
sonage larder,  or  library,  or  pocket-book,  the  gifts  prompted 
by  a  loving  personal  regard.  If  there  were  more  demon- 
strativeness  of  this  sort,  ministers  would  not  get  the  blues  as 
often  as  they  do,  for  fear  that  they  are  losing  their  hold  on 
their  people,  and  parishioners  would  find  themselves  listening 
with  increased  profit  to  the  sermons." 

But  there  are  courtesies  of  another  kind  which  cheer  the 
heart  of  every  earnest  pastor  —  courtesies  that  cost  but  little, 
but  are  worth  to  him  far  more  than  any  gifts  you  could  bestow. 
A  sympathetic  recognition  of  the  value  of  his  services,  the  tak- 
ing of  a  little  pains  to  show  him  that  you  "  esteem  him  very 
highly  for  his  work's  sake,"  will  help  him  a  great  deal  more 
than  anything  else  you  can  do  for  him.  It  may  be  that  you 
are  reserved  and  undemonstrative,  and  so  you  never  tell  him 
of  the  good  his  preaching  is  doing  you.  He  gives  you  his  best, 
but  from  you  not  a  single  word  of  appreciation  or  of  interest 
does  he  get.  He  comes  down  from  the  pulpit  and  exchanges 
greetings;  you  speak  to  him  of  the  weather  —  how  cold  or 


PARISH    COURTESIES  167 

how  hot  it  is ;  you  inquire  if  he  has  escaped  the  prevailing 
epidemic ;  you  tell  him  that  Mrs.  Green's  little  girl  has  the 
measles.  But  it  never  enters  your  head  or  your  heart  to 
allude  to  his  sermon.  As  to  all  that  with  which  his  soul  is 
filled  there  is  nothing  from  you  but  the  emptiness  of  utter 
silence.  So  far  as  the  evidence  goes,  not  a  chord  has  been 
touched,  not  a  response  awakened.  Is  it  strange  that  he 
walks  home  with  a  saddened  face  and  a  heavy  heart  ^  that  he 
fears  lest  the  sermon  over  which  he  had  labored  and  prayed 
so  earnestly  has  proved  a  failure  ? 

But  he  preaches  the  same  discourse  away  from  home. 
Somehow  the  church  is  pervaded  by  a  different  atmosphere, 
and  this  affects  him  like  a  breath  from  the  mountains.  The 
frigid  non-conductor  which  had  intervened  between  himseK 
and  his  former  hearers  is  melted  away,  and  he  stands  up  a 
live,  free  man.  If  he  has  one  particle  of  magnetism  about 
him  it  is  brought  into  fuU  play,  and  he  goes  straight  to  the 
heart  and  the  conscience. 

When  the  services  are  ended,  some  of  the  brethren  hasten 
to  meet  him  at  the  pulpit  stairs  and  thank  him  for  his  words  of 
truth.  As  he  goes  down  the  aisle,  one  good  woman  and  another 
take  his  hand  and  continue  to  let  him  know  that  they  have 
been  instructed  and  comforted.  Thus  his  heart  is  cheered 
and  strengthened. 

In  another  congregation  he  meets,  from  beginning  to  end, 
mth  a  very  different  reception.  I  have  in  mind  a  young  cler- 
gyman who  related  to  me  his  own  experience.  He  arrived  at  a 
certain  rural  town  Saturday  night,  and,  according  to  direc- 
tions, went  to  the  country  tavern,  where  he  found  smoking  and 
drinking  going  on.  He  was  left  entirely  to  himself,  except 
that,  during  the  evening,  some  one  called  for  the  hymns.  The 
Sabbath  dawned  upon  him,  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land;  and 
a  stranger  he  remained  through  all  its  hours.  The  first  bell 
rang ;  then  the  second.  As  no  one  called  for  him,  he  inquired 
the  way  to  the  church  and  went  there  alone.  He  tried  to  put 
his  heart  into  his  discourse,  but  he  felt  as  if  preaching  to 
stone  walls.  After  service  he  was  requested  to  stop  at  the 
Sunday-school  and  make  a  few  remarks,  which  he  did,  and 
then  went  his  solitary  way  back  to  the  tavern. 


168  THE    PASTOR    AT    HOME 

The  afternoon  Tvas  a  repetition  of  the  morning,  only  still 
drearier.  Had  he  been  an  agent  to  sell  washing-machines  or 
carpet-sweepers,  he  would  have  met  with  some  response;  as  it 
was,  though  the  minister's  wife  and  probably  some  of  the  dea- 
cons were  present,  no  one  accosted  him,  except  a  man  who 
walked  a  little  ways  with  him  to  put  into  his  hand  his  hard- 
earned  honorarium.  But  so  far  as  any  invitation  to  dinner  or 
to  tea  was  concerned,  he  might  as  well  have  been  in  Kamt- 
schatka. 

The  trials  of  that  day,  however,  bore  good  fruits.  He  was 
led  by  them  so  to  train  his  own  people  that  they  never  failed 
to  extend  courtesy  and  hospitality  to  any  strange  minister 
who  might  occupy  his  pulpit. 

As  has  been  intimated,  there  are  congregations  greatly  at 
fault  in  this  particular  —  congregations  which  never  manifest 
to  the  preacher  the  smallest  interest  in  what  they  have  heard. 
Now  it  may  be  that  your  silence  is  not  that  of  indifference, 
but  of  thoughtlessness  or  of  habit.  Can  you  not  break  the 
speir?  If  there  is  interest  in  your  heart,  why  not  let  it  be 
upon  your  lips  also  ?  It  is  not  flattery  that  I  plead  for.  That 
miserable  incense,  so  often  offered  at  the  shrine  of  our  popu- 
larity-loving clergymen,  is  only  harmful  in  its  influence, 
ministering  to  vanity  and  worldly  ambition.  Its  tendency  is 
to  set  up  self  in  the  pulpit  in  place  of  the  Saviour.  As  one 
remarked  of  a  famous  minister  who  had  not  passed  through 
this  siege  of  adulation  unscathed,  "  Instead  of  preaching 
Christ  and  Him  crucified,  he  preaches  Puffer  and  him  glorified." 
From  all  such  carnal  ministrations  one  cannot  keep  himself 
too  free. 

But  in  showing  a  just  appreciation  of  your  pastor^s  services 
in  letting  him  know  that  you  have  a  warm  sympathy  with  him 
in  aU  his  efforts,  you  will  do  good  to  him  and  to  yourselves 
also;  you  will  bathe  his  soul  in  a  sweet  moral  sunshine, 
which,  by  reflex  influence,  shall  flood  your  own  souls  likewise. 
And  in  the  warmth  of  that  sunshine  shaU  spring  forth  fra- 
grant flowers  and  golden  fruit  which  shall  bless  abundantly 
the  parsonage  and  the  parish. 


THE  PASTOR  AT  WORK 


STUDY  AND  PULPIT 

HE  phrase,  "  the  pastor  in  the  study,"  implies 
that  he  is  a  student ;  and  the  phrase,  '^  in 
the  pulpit,"  implies  that  he  is  a  teacher. 
What,  then,  is  the  relation  of  the  people  to 
the  pastor  as  a  student  and  a  teacher  ? 

I  assume  that  he  is  worthy  of  these  high 
designations ;  that  he  has  been  trained  to 
and  observes  the  habits  of  a  student ;  and  that  he  stands  in  his 
pulpit  as  a  teacher.  If  he  is  unworthy  of  these  titles  through 
lack  of  training  or  mental  capacity,  or  if  he  forfeits  them  by 
indolence  or  misconception,  there  are  no  relations  between 
the  people  and  himself  such  as  are  here  considered.  In  such 
a  case,  the  sooner  the  formal  relations  are  dissolved  the  better ; 
for  a  pastor  who  is  not  both  a  student  and  a  teacher  has  no 
claim  upon  his  office  and  its  emoluments.  He  need  not  be  a 
learned  man,  but  he  must  study ;  he  need  not  be  a  great  teacher, 
but  he  must  teach.  Presupposing  aU  this,  how  can  the  people 
help  him  in  these  relations  ? 

First.  Assuming  also  that  he  cannot  continuously  teach  weU 
unless  he  studies  well,  the  very  first  thing  to  be  considered  by 
the  people  is,  that  he  shall  have  time  for  study.  Rid  yourselves 
utterly  of  the  idea  that  the  pastor  may  not  be  about  his  work 
when  he  is  not  engaged  in  its  visibly  active  forms.  It  is  some- 
times thought  that  if  he  is  not  preaching,  or  making  pastoral 
visits,  or  presiding  over  meetings,  or  attending  to  the  details 

169 


170  THE    PASTOR    AT    WORK 

of  parish  business,  he  is  not  at  work  ;  but  these  occupations 
ought  to  consume  but  a  small  part  of  his  time.  The  demands 
of  the  pulpit  to-day  are  so  great  and  strenuous  that  unless  the 
pastor  devotes  the  greater  part  of  his  tima  to  study,  he  will 
fall  below  your  standard  of  requirement  and  expectation,  and 
he  will  also  fail  of  continued  usefulness.  You  may  say  what 
you  will  about  simple  Gospel  preaching  and  extempore  speak- 
ing, and  the  like,  but  you  will  not,  in  the  long  run,  care  for 
the  preaching  unless  there  is  behind  and  under  it  the  solid 
study  and  careful  meditation  of  the  student.  Now,  the  first 
and  main  thing  is  to  secure  for  your  teacher  a  proper  amount 
of  uninterrupted  time.  Most  pastors  study  in  the  morning. 
When  young  they  often  study  in  the  evening,  but  commonly 
rue  it,  and,  as  they  grow  older,  fix  on  the  morning  hours,  when 
the  brain  is  clearer,  more  trustworthy,  and  less  prone  to  mor- 
bid and  exaggerated  thought.  It  should  be  a  law  in  the  parish 
that  the  pastor  shall  not  be  interrupted  during  the  first  half 
of  the  day.  If  you  occasionally  see  him  on  the  street  during 
these  hours,  do  not  infer  that  you  may  seek  him  in  his  study 
at  such  times  ;  he  probably  has  some  better  reason  for  being 
there  than  you  have  for  being  in  his  house.  Extreme  occa- 
sions aside,  the  people  should  rigorously  abstain  from  intrud- 
ing on  their  pastor  during  his  known  hours  of  study.  "  A 
moment  for  just  one  question  "  at  eleven  o'clock  may  prove 
more  disastrous  to  his  sermon  than  two  hours  of  questions  in 
the  afternoon. 

Speaking  generally,  learn  the  habits  of  your  pastor  as  to 
study,  and  shape  your  action  accordingly. 

Second.  Fewer  sermons  should  be  required  than  is  now  the 
custom.  This  does  not  imply  less  time  to  be  spent  in  the 
study,  nor  less  teaching  in  the  pulpit,  nor  less  of  the  student 
habit  and  feeling,  but  rather  more  in  each  respect.  Pro- 
fessionally, pastors  are  weighed  down  and  humbled  by  a 
consciousness  of  the  poor  work  they  render  in  their  pulpits 
from  Sunday  to  Sunday.  The  eagerness  with  which  they 
listen  to,  and  often  seek  for,  approval  and  praise  of  their 
preaching  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  they  know  that  the 
sermons  are  not  what  they  ought  to  be.  A  man  who  has  done 
a  thoroughly  good  piece  of  work,  and  knows  it  to  be  such,  is 


STUDY   AND    PULPIT  171 

not  anxious  about  its  reception,  so  far  as  its  merit  is  con- 
cerned. The  effort  and  strain  the  pastor  is  under,  to  get  in 
readiness  two  sermons  each  week,  is  well-nigh  fatal  to  all 
good  habits  as  a  student.  He  writes  hastily;  he  does  not 
pause  to  think  out  his  thought  and  consider  its  relations, 
to  verify  and  amplify  his  knowledge,  to  perfect  the  form,  to 
condense  or  enlarge  according  to  the  need.  Beginning  his 
professional  life  thus,  and  without  material  to  fall  back  upon, 
he  early  contracts  bad  habits  as  a  student  that  become  fixed, 
and  follow  him  all  through,  and  sink  him  below  his  real  place 
and  desert  as  a  thinker.  It  is  a  constant  surprise  in  the  pews 
that  pastors  of  evident  intellectual  ability  preach  so  poorly. 
The  greater  part  sink  far  below  their  proper  intellectual 
standard  the  moment  they  begin  the  sermon;  they  show 
neither  the  mental  grasp,  nor  the  intelligence,  the  culture,  the 
wisdom,  the  knowledge  of  men  and  of  the  world  that  they 
show  in  private  conversation  and  on  the  street.  It  is  not 
because  they  are  indolent,  but  because  they  are  the  helpless 
slaves  of  bad  habits  of  thought  and  study  that  were  formed 
early  in  their  ministry — habits  almost  necessarily  formed 
by  the  demand  for  two  sermons  each  week.  If  there  is  poor 
preaching, —  and  it  must  be  confessed  that  there  is  a  great 
deal, —  the  people  are  largely  responsible  for  it  5  they  have 
trained  the  preacher  away  from  all  ability  to  preach  well  by 
their  excessive  requirements.  The  common  faults  of  preach- 
ing indicate  that  they  spring  from  such  a  cause;  formal, 
slip-shod  in  thought,  doubtful  in  exegesis,  one-sided  or  so 
guarded  as  to  be  without  much  meaning,  dry,  over-speculative, 
or  over-hortatory,  or  sentimental,  according  to  the  direction 
in  which  the  preacher's  mind  works  most  easily ;  in  a  word, 
unvitalized  and  unindividualized,  because  the  man  has  no 
life  and  individuality  left  to  throw  into  it.  All  his  energies 
go  week  after  week  into  getting  something  ready  that  will 
^'  answer " ;  and  he  has  done  this  so  long  that  he  cannot  do 
otherwise. 

The  inference  from  this  prescribes  an  important  duty  on 
the  part  of  the  people  to  the  pastor ;  namely,  require  fewer 
sermons — giving  him  to  understand,  however,  that  there  is 
to  be  no  less  study,  and  that  greater  excellence  is  expected. 


172  THE    PASTOR    AT    WORK 

Every  sermon  should  be  a  fresh  and  vital  creation,  else  it  is 
not  worth  preaching.  Unless  a  preacher  can  get  a  subject  into 
a  light  that  is  new  and  real  to  himself,  he  cannot  preach  well 
upon  it.  That  any  man  can  do  this  even  once  a  week  is  im- 
possible, except  in  rare  cases ;  but  when  he  has  produced  a 
true  sermon,  you  will  want  to  hear  it  again  and  again,  as  with 
a  poem  or  a  song. 

Third.  Protect  your  teacher  from  all  needless  causes  of 
worry,  not  because  he  is  too  good,  or  too  sensitive  to  suffer  in 
this  way,  but  because  you  want  to  get  the  best  work  out  of 
him  that  is  possible. 

There  is  nothing  so  antagonistic  to  the  student  habit  as 
small,  fretting  anxieties.  Working  alone,  given  to  meditation, 
sustaining  a  relation  in  which  good- will  is  a  prime  necessity, 
closely  bound  to  people  from  whom  he  is  at  the  same  time 
shut  off  in  many  ways,  the  pastor  is  peculiarly  tempted  to 
indulge  in  suspicions,  and  is  sorely  hindered  by  needless  criti- 
cism and  slight  troubles.  There  is  enough  of  this  in  nearly 
all  parishes  to  render  the  pastor  miserable  if  it  comes  to  his 
knowledge.  Therefore  it  should  be  kept  from  him  so  far  as 
possible ;  or,  at  least,  not  be  brought  to  him. 

Thought  flourishes  only  in  a  calm  atmosphere.  The  mind 
may  thrive  and  grow  strong  under  great  trials,  for  they  bring 
their  own  hours  of  after-peace  with  them,  but  anxieties  only 
throw  it  out  of  working-gear.  Besides,  a  pastor  should  be 
kept  as  free  as  possible  from  all  causes  which  tend  to  embitter 
him,  and  which  lead  him  to  regard  men  contemptuously.  He 
cannot  teach  well  those  whom  he  cannot  regard  with  respect. 
If  there  are  any  persons  in  the  parish  who  do  not  help  the 
pastor  as  a  student,  it  is  those  who  feel  bound  to  report  to  him 
"  the  state  of  feeling ''  adverse  to  him  j  it  is  time  for  this  when 
it  is  time  to  resign.  There  will,  indeed,  be  vexing  questions 
and  bad  states  of  feeling  which  the  pastor  must  know  about 
and  compose  if  possible,  but  his  friends  and  advisers  should, 
in  this  case  at  least,  observe  times  and  seasons.  Do  not  take 
them  to  him  on  Sunday,  neither  on  Monday,  nor  on  Saturday, 
nor  in  the  evening  or  the  morning  of  any  day.  Are  there  not 
four  afternoons  left  that  are  sufficient  unto  the  evil  of  the 
whole  week  ? 


STUDY   AND    PULPIT  173 

Generalizing  upon  these  points,  I  would  say  tliat  if  you 
would  help  your  pastor  as  a  student  and  teacher,  you  must 
strive  to  secure  for  him  all  those  conditions  which  will  best 
enable  him  to  fill  out  this  relation.  His  work  as  a  preacher  is 
one  of  routine,  and  the  enemies  that  most  threaten  it  are  dull- 
ness and  fatigue,  a  tired  brain  and  a  lowered  vitality.  When 
he  thus  enters  the  pulpit,  the  sermon  will  be  dull  by  natural 
consequence,  and  his  weariness  will  impart  itself  to  the  con- 
gregation. The  preacher  should  go  into  the  pulpit  as  a 
race-horse  bounds  into  the  course,  full  of  life  and  fire,  eager 
for  the  work  before  him.  And  he  must  be  prepared  for 
it  somewhat  as  the  race-horse  is,  by  considerate  care 
between  times.  Secure  for  him  an  entirely  free  Monday; 
give  him  wide  liberty  in  recreation ;  attend  yourselves  to 
all  details  of  parish  work  of  which  he  can  reasonably  be 
relieved.  If  you  are  able,  provide  him  with  a  paid  assistant 
who  shall  also  superintend  the  Sunday-school ;  encourage  him 
in  a  social  and  intellectual  life  that  is  apart  from  the  parish, 
on  the  ground  that  he  needs  change  of  thought  and  atmos- 
phere ;  do  not  vex  him  with  the  small  discontents  that  fioat 
through  the  congregation,  thistle-down  of  criticism  that  will  find 
its  way  out  as  it  came  in  if  let  alone  ;  keep  him  in  the  circle  of 
the  brightest,  the  most  encouraging  and  stimulating  part  of  his 
field — not,  indeed,  away  from  its  suffering  and  misery  and  sin, 
but  from  those  negative  and  disheartening  conceptions  of  him- 
self and  of  his  office  the  knowledge  of  which  can  be  of  no 
value  to  him.  Protect  him,  also,  against  the  conception  that  he 
is  liired  to  preach,  and  is  in  that  light  accountable  to  each  and 
every  member  of  the  congregation.  There  is,  indeed,  a  busi- 
ness relation  not  to  be  forgotten,  but  it  is  best  observed  on 
either  side  when  it  is  most  kept  out  of  sight. 

When  these  things  are  done,  not  merely  out  of  tender 
regard  and  consideration,  but  to  secure  good  results,  then  you 
may  press  your  demands  for  good  preaching  with  strenuous 
and  imperative  emphasis. 

Fourth.  There  is  another  feature  of  your  relation  to  the 
pastor  as  a  teacher  more  difficult  of  adjustment  in  these  daysj 
namely,  the  degree  of  liberty  and  range  of  thought  and  specu- 
lation in  the  pulpit  that  shall  be  accorded  to  him. 


174  THE    PASTOR    AT    WORK 

That  there  are  certain  vague  yet  real  limits  set  about  a 
teacher  in  the  pulpit,  known  as  orthodoxy,  will  not  be  denied. 
That  a  pastor  who  is  worthy  of  the  name  will  observe  these 
limits,  and  that  the  congregation  may  insist  on  such  observ- 
ance, is  equally  undeniable.  Connected  with  these  admissions, 
however,  are  the  equally  evident  principles  that  the  preacher 
must  be  honest,  true  to  the  truth  as  he  finds  it,  and  unhesi- 
tating in  his  utterance  of  it.  The  people  should  not  only 
accord  to  him  such  liberty,  but  insist  upon  it  in  their  own 
interest ;  for  freedom  in  the  pulpit  is  quite  as  essential  to  the 
hearers  as  to  the  preacher.  It  is  sometimes  regarded  as  a 
sort  of  luxury  and  accorded  privilege  or  indulgence  on  the 
part  of  the  people,  whereas  it  is  they  and  not  the  pastor  who 
most  need  it.  If  there  is  anything  that  is  deadening  and  fatal 
to  the  spiritual  life  of  both  parties,  it  is  a  formal  orthodoxy, 
uttered  by  a  preacher  who  only  half  believes,  or  believes  it 
with  large  reservation,  and  is  heard  by  a  congregation  who 
knows,  or  feels,  or  suspects  that  such  is  the  case. 

Now,  what  are  the  rights  of  the  preacher  and  what  are  the 
rights  of  the  people  under  this  twofold  condition  ;  namely,  lim- 
its to  be  observed,  and  liberty  as  a  condition  of  spiritual  life  ? 

It  might  be  well  to  start  with  a  great  truth  like  this :  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  most  present  wdth  a  Christian  teacher  when  he 
is  freest.  The  presumptions  are  all  in  favor  of  freedom,  and 
the  people  should  place  themselves  in  accordance  with  them, 
leaning  to  that  side  rather  than  to  the  side  of  restriction. 
The  word  of  Grod  is  not  bound.  But  it  does  not  follow  that 
there  are  not  limits  of  thought  and  utterance  that  the  preacher 
should  observe,  and  that  the  people  may  insist  upon.  The 
question  of  difference,  if  it  arises,  cannot  be  settled  by  an 
assertion  that  the  preaching  is  not  the  Gospel,  because  the 
very  point  at  issue  may  be  what  the  Gospel  is.  The  suspected 
utterance  may  contain  the  very  heart  of  the  Gospel.  Nor  can 
the  question  be  settled  by  hasty  and  arbitrary  interpretation, 
for  it  may  be  a  question  of  interpretation  ;  the  preacher  may 
be  right  and  the  people  wrong,  or  vice  versd.  This  possibil- 
ity that  truth  may  be  on  the  other  side  should  induce  great 
forbearance  and  toleration  on  both  sides.  Such  questions 
cannot  be  settled  by  comparing  the  preaching  in  a  strict  way 


STUDY   AND    PULPIT  175 

with  what  are  called  the  standards  of  orthodoxy  j  for  if  there 
is  any  one  clearly  established  principle  in  the  Church  it  is 
that  theology  is  a  progressive  and  unfolding  science,  and  is 
constantly  undergoing  changes  and  "  improvements,"  as  Dr. 
Edwards  phrased  it — a  process  illustrated  by  the  whole  history 
of  the  Church.  The  people  should  constantly  keep  this  great 
principle  before  them  when  their  teacher  seems  to  be  following 
new  paths.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  they  should  not  allow  the 
principle  to  run  away  with  them,  and  tolerate  the  preacher  in 
uttering  whatever  may  come  into  his  head.  It  is  necessary 
that  the  teacher,  as  well  as  the  people,  should  have  some 
guiding  principles  of  toleration.  Both  have  their  rights  and 
obligations.  The  preacher  who  casts  his  doubts,  his  crude 
speculations,  his  hard  denials,  his  vagaries  upon  the  congre- 
gation under  some  specious  theory  of  liberty,  or  of  the  duty  of 
uttering  all  his  thought,  is  not  a  true  teacher,  and  he  himself 
dissolves  the  relation.  The  people  need  and  should  insist 
upon  positive  teaching ;  they  may  reasonably  expect  to  be  led 
in  the  general  direction  in  which  they  have  been  going.  The 
pulpit  is  not  the  field  for  revolutionary  thought,  nor  is  it  an 
arena  for  theological  debate.  The  Church  of  God  is  a  flock 
to  be  fed,  and  it  may  reasonably  ask  to  be  led  into  green  past- 
ures and  by  still  waters.  The  pastures  may  be  new,  but  they 
must  be  green  and  nourishing  ;  the  waters  may  be  fresh,  but 
they  must  be  still,  and  also  "  clear  as  crystal.'^ 

If  it  be  asked,  Is  there  not  some  definite  principle  or  rule 
by  which  it  can  be  settled  how  far  the  preacher  may  depart 
from  what  are  called  the  "  old  paths,''  and  at  what  point  the 
people  may  remonstrate  ?  I  answer  that  there  can  be  no  such 
definite  rule,  for  the  simple  reason  that  there  are  no  suffi- 
ciently fixed  standards  to  create  it,  except  the  Bible  or  the 
Gospel ;  but  it  is  pre-supposed  that  the  preacher  is  teaching 
within  these  limits.  When  he  gets  without  the  Bible  and  the 
Gospel,  he  is  no  longer  a  Christian  teacher.  "  Orthodoxy,'' 
"  the  doctrines  of  grace,"  and  the  phrase,  "  what  is  believed 
always,  everywhere,  and  by  all,"  are  elastic  terms,  and  do  not 
furnish  a  definite  rule. 

Instead  of  seeking  for  such  a  rule  —  for  rules  are  the  letter 
that  killeth  —  it  is  better  that  each  case  should  be  settled  by 


176  THE    PASTOR   AT   WORK 

itself  according  to  the  spirit  that  maketh  alive  and  the  light 
that  may  be  given  at  the  time.  If  this  seems  to  leave  the 
matter  at  loose  ends  and  just  where  we  took  it  up,  I  can  add 
some  general  principles,  or  rather  suggestions,  that  will  be  of 
service  in  any  special  case  where  the  preacher  seems  to  be 
treading  on  doubtful  ground. 

1.  The  people  should  not  forget  that  their  teacher  has  been 
put  in  his  place  presumably  by  the  call  of  God,  and  certainly 
by  the  indorsement  of  the  church  at  large,  and  finally  by  them- 
selves.  The  facts  create  a  strong  presumption  in  favor  of  the 
pastor,  and  should  induce  favorable  consideration. 

2.  Nor  should  it  be  forgotten  that  there  is  a  persuasive  and 
commanding  power  in  the  Gospel  itself  that  tends  to  hold  a 
student  of  it  within  its  limits.  To  readily  suspect  a  teacher 
of  the  Gospel  is  akin  to  suspecting  the  Gospel  itself. 

3.  It  should  also  be  kept  in  mind  that  while  the  Gospel  does 
not  change,  the  theological  conception  of  it  is  constantly 
undergoing  new  phases,  and  shares  in  the  growing  wisdom  of 
the  world.  It  may  be  that  the  preacher  is  simply  interpreting 
a  new  phase  of  the  eternally  same  Gospel. 

4.  The  consequences  of  his  teaching  should  be  awaited,  and 
not  be  condemned  in  advance  because  of  its  apparent  tenden- 
cies. It  should  be  judged  by  its  fruits  rather  than  by  its  bud- 
ding leaves.  Do  not  put  the  vague  proverb,  Frincipiis  obsta 
(resist  beginnings),  against  the  plain  word  of  Christ;  for 
good  things  as  weU.  as  evil  things  have  doubtful  beginnings. 
The  Gospel  itself  got  foothold  under  one  principle  and  would 
have  been  crushed  out  under  the  other.  The  disposition  to 
judge  by  tendencies  lies  at  the  root  of  aU.  persecution  since 
Christ  was  crucified.  If  the  results  of  the  teaching  are  good ; 
if  the  church  is  edified  in  the  Christian  graces ;  if  the  sad  are 
comforted ;  if  the  weak  are  strengthened ;  if  the  wicked  are 
converted  from  their  evil  ways ;  if  public  and  private  morality 
is  promoted ;  if  faith  becomes  more  intelligent  and  rational  ,• 
if  the  circle  of  beneficent  influence  is  widened ;  if,  in  short, 
the  influence  of  the  teaching  is  clearly  seen  to  be  good  in  the 
long  run  and  on  a  wide  scale,  despite  its  apparent  effect  in 
some  special  cases,  it  may  safely  be  concluded  that  the  pastor 
is  right  and  that  the  suspicions  are  groundless.     The  advice 


STUDY   AND    PULPIT  177 

of  Gamaliel,  in  its  spirit,  may  well  be  trusted  in  such  cases, 
and  still  more  the  position  of  Peter  and  the  first  council  in 
Jerusalem,  who  laid  aside  their  fears  and  prejudices  and 
accepted  the  results  of  the  preaching  of  Paul  and  Barnabas 
in  place  of  its  apparent  tendencies. 

5.  Beware  of  and  resist  professional  heresy -hunters ;  they  are 
the  curse  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  are  indirectly  the  cause 
of  more  heresy  than  they  discover. 

6.  Regard  schism  as  a  deadly  sin,  and  avoid  all  criticism 
and  dispute  that  tend  to  induce  it.  Dismiss  your  pastor  if  he 
does  not  preach  the  Gospel,  but  do  not  divide  the  church  over 
him.  To  proceed  upon  suspicious  and  apparent  tendencies  is 
to  hazard  the  latter  result;  to  wait  for  consequences  is  to 
render  the  former  course  easy,  and  thus  schism  is  averted. 

7.  Base  all  your  relations  to  your  teacher  upon  confidence. 
There  should  be  long  hesitation  and  great  patience  when  he 
seems  to  be  treading  the  borders  of  error,  or  what  you  deem 
such.  It  should  be  kept  steadily  in  mind  that  there  is  a  wide 
space  between  the  pastor  trained  in  theological  studies  and 
laymen  —  a  space  that  is  not  rendered  less  by  the  growing 
knowledge  of  the  people,  for  the  reason  that  the  science  of 
theology  increases  its  scope  in  a  larger  ratio  than  that  of 
general  intelligence.  This  space  is  certainly  as  wide  as  that 
between  a  trained  lawyer  and  an  amateur  reader  of  Black- 
stone.  As  a  general  rule,  the  pastor  is  to  be  trusted  on  the 
simple  ground  of  superior  knowledge  —  as  with  lawyers  and 
physicians.  If  a  lawyer  loses  his  cases  and  the  physician 
his  patients  in  an  unusual  degree,  confidence  and  patronage 
are  withdrawn.  So  if  a  pastor's  teaching  bears  no  fruit,  and 
but  stirs  up  doubts  and  disputes  and  vain  speculations,  and 
yields  an  intellectual  hardness  instead  of  the  sweet  temper  of 
the  Gospel ;  if  he  rides  hobbies  instead  of  feeding  the  flock  of 
God,  the  people  may  well  conclude  that  he  is  not  a  true 
teacher  and  proceed  accordingly. 

Fifth.  I  have  reserved  as  a  last  suggestion  the  one  that  I 
deem  the  most  important.  You  can  help  your  pastor  as  a 
student  and  teacher  in  no  way  so  well  as  to  offer  him  a  teach- 
able mind  and  spirit  in  yourselves.  The  true  pupil  makes  the 
true  teacher.  The  docile  sheep  secure  for  themselves  the  best 
12 


178  THE    PASTOR    AT    WORK 

shepherd  and  the  sweetest  pasture.  It  is  the  demand  of  the 
people  that  calls  out  all  the  powers  and  resources  of  the  stu- 
dent. It  is  the  misery  of  the  preacher  that  his  congregations 
come  before  him  to  be  simply  interested  rather  than  instructed ; 
hence  the  temptation  to  entertain  them ;  hence  sensational- 
ism. The  pulpit  is  governed  by  the  pews,  and  it  gives  out, 
for  the  most  part,  what  is  wanted.  If  there  were  in  them  an 
eager  desire  to  learn  the  truth  of  Grod,  an  inquiring  and  teach- 
able spirit,  a  mind  thirsting  for  the  great  facts  of  the  Gospel 
and  its  cognate  truths,  the  preacher  would,  in  most  cases, 
respond  more  fully  and  readily  than  to  any  other  demand  that 
could  be  made  upon  him.  It  would  be  in  the  line  of  his  long 
preparation  ;  it  would  accord  with  the  scholarly  instinct  that 
study  usually  develops,  and  awaken  the  true  professional  feel- 
ing. With  such  adjustment  between  the  pews  and  the  pulpit 
his  best  powers  would  be  called  out,  and  the  best  results  pos- 
sible to  the  relation  between  them  would  be  secured. 

Coming  before  your  teacher  in  this  spirit,  and  for  ends  of 
instruction,  you  wiU  not  complain  if  he  sometimes  preaches 
over  your  heads.  Far  better  were  this  than  that  he  should 
come  down  to  your  level.  Stretch  yourselves  up  to  him  rather 
than  drag  him  down  to  you.  The  demand  now  frequently 
heard,  in  some  quarters,  for  simple  and  plain  preaching,  so 
caUed,  is  sustained  by  no  example  in  the  Scriptures,  nor  by 
the  nature  of  the  Gospel,  nor  by  any  principle  of  education, 
sacred  or  secular.  The  reception  of  the  facts  of  the  Gospel  as 
the  ground  of  salvation  is  one  thing ;  the  knoivledge  of  it  is 
another  thing,  and  the  latter  is  the  chief  field  of  the  preacher. 
By  its  nature  as  a  process  of  education  and  training,  it  cannot 
be  an  easy  and  effortless  process.  Simple  and  plain  the  preach- 
ing must  be  in  one  sense,  but  it  is  the  revelation  of  ^Hhe  mys- 
tery of  Christ,"  a  thing  not  to  be  compassed  without  the  utmost 
energy  of  the  mind  and  spirit.  And  so  I  say  in  conclusion, 
go  up  to  your  teacher,  and  do  not  bring  him  down  to  you. 


II 

PASTORAL  VISITATION 

IT  is  to  be  feared  that  systematic  pastoral  \'isitation  has 
fallen  into  disuse  in  many  churches,  greatly  to  the  loss  of 
both  pastors  and  people.  A  brief  statement  of  its  necessity, 
aims,  and  advantages  may  be  helpful. 

When  a  minister  accepts  a  call  to  the  pastorate  of  a  particu- 
lar church,  he  accepts  the  spiritual  care  of  all  connected  with 
that  church  and  congregation.  The  care  of  souls  is  the  radi- 
cal idea  of  the  pastor's  office.  The  pastor  is  a  shepherd  to 
whom  a  flock  has  been  committed  to  guide,  to  feed,  to  heal, 
to  defend ;  and  the  command  is,  ^^  Take  heed  to  yourself  and 
to  the  flock."  This  pastoral  care  demands  for  its  exercise 
accurate  personal  acquaintances,  for  as  Baxter  asks,  "  How 
can  we  take  heed  to  them  if  we  do  not  know  them  ? "  As  an 
indispensable  requisite  of  a  successful  pastorate,  then,  the 
minister  needs  to  make  careful,  continual  and  detailed  study 
of  his  parish.  This  is  his  assigned  field,  not  mankind  in 
general.  For  such  study  the  most  efficient  means  is  system- 
atic and  weU-ordered  pastoral  visitation.  One  reason  for  the 
apparent  waste  of  ministerial  power  is  that  the  real  events  of 
the  special  field  are  not  known,  and  so  are  not  ministered  to. 
Each  parish  has  its  peculiarities,  and  so  has  each  person  in  it. 
The  congregation  must  be  broken  up  into  its  component 
parts, —  separate  persons,  each  one  having  his  own  hopes, 
fears,  desires,  and  aims, —  for  Christ  did  not  redeem  the  parish, 
nor  will  he  judge  the  congregation.  The  pastor  needs,  then, 
to  penetrate  beneath  the  external  history  and  circumstances, 
and  to  learn  the  varieties  of  character,  disposition,  mental 
traits,  speculative  opinion,  habits  of  life,  and  besetting  sins. 
He  needs  to  cultivate  the  gift  of  discerning  spii'its,  which 
next  to  the  interpreting  of  Scripture  is  the  great  auxiliary  to 
preaching.  He  may  make  his  broad  distinctions  by  a  study 
of  the  church  register,  but  these  broad  outlines  give  no  personal 


180  THE    PASTOR    AT    WORK 

features;  and,  if  he  go  no  farther,  he  does  not  know  his  people; 
and  they  elude  his  classification  and  escape  his  care.  By  dili- 
gent visiting,  by  hunting  out  his  people,  by  seeing  them  again 
and  again  in  their  homes,  he  comes  to  know  them  as  they  are. 
Sometimes  general  parish  oversight,  through  the  net- work 
of  societies  and  organizations  that  fall  to  the  minister  to  man- 
age, is  supposed  to  take  the  place  of  visiting  and  personal 
contact  with  individuals ;  but  this  does  not  meet  the  necessities 
of  the  case.  That  general  superintendency  or  presidency  of 
the  parish  and  pastoral  care  are  not  the  same  thing.  The 
former  has  respect  to  the  general  life  of  the  community  and  is 
busy  with  the  machinery,  while  the  latter  has  to  do  with  inter- 
nal states,  conditions,  and  tendencies.  It  is  possible,  and  not 
uncommon,  to  do  much  with  the  former  while  doing  little 
with  the  latter.  There  are  parishes  where  things  are  well 
organized,  where  there  are  aU  sorts  of  activities  and  societies, 
but  where  there  is  no  proportionate  apprehension  of  and  no 
proportionate  provision  for  the  real  wants  of  individual  men 
and  women.  There  may  be  a  lively  scene  on  the  surface,  but 
not  much  going  on  beneath  it.  It  is  not  easy,  in  the  restless- 
ness and  complexity  of  his  public  relations,  for  a  minister  to 
give  to  this  personal  part  of  his  work  its  proper  place.  Pro- 
vision must  be  made  for  this,  and  the  pastor  must  be  helped. 
Demands  upon  his  time  and  attention  multiply.  In  proportion 
to  the  importance  of  his  parish,  to  his  personal  influence,  to 
his  capacity  for  business,  the  calls  for  public  and  outside  ser- 
vice are  more  frequent  and  urgent.  There  are  meetings  here, 
committees  there,  constitutions  to  be  drawn  up,  organizations 
to  be  kept  running,  records  to  be  made;  but  shall  he  be 
absorbed  in  presiding,  organizing,  managing  ?  The  danger  is 
not  new  in  our  day.  It  showed  itself  in  the  early  church,  and 
the  apostles  met  it  by  division  of  labor,  saying  :  "  It  is  not  fit 
that  we  should  forsake  the  word  of  God  and  serve  tables ; 
search  out  suitable  men  for  this  business,  but  we  wiU  continue 
steadfastly  in  prayer  and  in  the  ministry  of  the  word."  As 
then,  so  now,  much  of  the  detail  of  general  parish  work  can 
be  better  devolved  upon  others  that  the  minister  may  be  more 
free  to  "  teach  publicly  and  from  house  to  house,"  ministering 
the  word  in  its  more  spiritual  application. 


PASTORAL    VISITATION  181 

By  pastoral  visitation  is  meant  some  plan  by  whieh  all  the 
families,  and  as  far  as  possible  all  the  individuals,  of  the  con- 
gregation may  be  reached  by  a  series  of  pastoral  calls.  It 
may  be  somewhat  difficult  to  define  a  pastoral  caU  as  distin- 
guished from  many  other  visits  which  the  pastor  may  and 
does  make,  but  this  at  least  can  be  said — it  should  have  distinct 
reference  to  the  discharge  of  his  duty  as  the  appointed  spirit- 
ual guide  of  the  people.  Some  would  lay  down  strict  rules 
for  such  calls,  but  there  is  no  one  patent  way  for  making 
them.  While  a  true  pastoral  call  is  in  the  technical  sense  a 
professional  one,  not  a  visit  of  mere  etiquette  or  neighborly 
courtesy,  it  should  be  friendly  and  social,  varied  according  to 
circumstances,  and  freed  from  perfunctoriness  and  profession- 
alism. Still,  its  spirit  should  be  such  that  it  should  be  felt  to 
be  the  visit  of  the  pastor,  having  as  its  object  to  place  him  in 
religious  contact  with  his  people,  to  learn  their  experiences, 
to  remove  their  perplexities,  to  comfort  them  in  their  sor- 
rows, to  stimulate  their  religious  activities,  and  to  help  them 
heavenward. 

If  this  paper  were  intended  for  pastors,  we  might  dwell 
more  at  length  upon  methods,  but  here  it  will  be  enough  to 
insist  that  these  calls  be  distinctly  religious  ;  that  they  be  pro- 
fessional but  at  the  same  time  free,  friendly,  and  unstereo- 
t^^ed;  that  they  be  impartial,  so  that  all  —  poor  and  rich, 
young  and  old,  men  and  women  —  be  made  to  feel  that  they 
have  a  pastor ;  that  they  be  brief  and  to  the  point,  so  that  in 
a  reasonable  time  the  whole  congregation  be  reached  without 
detracting  fi-om  thoroughness  in  pulpit  preparation ;  that 
they  be  considered  so  confidential  that  the  pastor  in  them 
may  be  trusted  as  a  safe  and  honorable  friend  and  adviser ; 
that  they  be  governed  by  some  regular  plan  which  shaU  be 
imderstood  by  the  people  5  and  that  the  system  be  carried  out 
with  such  persistence  that  the  whole  parish  be  reached,  and 
yet  with  such  fiexibility  as  to  enable  the  pastor  to  use  prov- 
idential opportunities.  How  aU  this  shall  be  done,  how  much 
time  shall  be  spent,  must  depend  upon  the  circumstances  of  the 
particular  parish  and  minister. 

Among  the  numerous  advantages  of  pastoral  visitation  may 
be  mentioned : 


182  THE    PASTOR   AT    WORK 

First  The  personal  benefit  to  the  minister  himself.  This 
brings  religion  before  him  less  as  a  theory  and  more  as  a  liv- 
ing, personal  reality ;  it  broadens  his  sympathies,  and  it  stim- 
ulates him  mentally  by  giving  him  insight  into  character, 
and  ncAv  views  of  truth,  new  subjects  and  illustrations  for 
sermons. 

Second.  The  good  effect  upon  preaching.  The  successful 
preacher  needs  to  be  a  student  of  men.  The  danger  is  that  as 
the  people  are  not  in  the  study  when  the  sermon  is  composed 
they  will  be  forgotten,  and  the  treatment  of  the  subject  will  be 
the  end  and  not  the  means  to  an  end.  An  observant  stranger 
hearing  a  sermon  mil  discern,  before  it  is  half  over,  whether 
the  preacher  is  accustomed  to  go  from  house  to  house  or  not  j 
there  is  an  unmistakable  air  of  directness  about  the  sermon 
that  has  been  studied  after  intercourse  with  real  men  and 
women. 

The  preacher  needs  to  know  the  attitude  of  those  around 
him  toward  the  truth,  the  delusions  in  which  they  acquiesce, 
the  shifts  to  which  they  resort,  the  debates  going  on  within 
them,  the  excuses  they  frame ;  to  know  the  dubious  symptoms, 
the  precarious  conditions  of  those  awakened;  and  to  know 
the  growing  demands,  the  expanding  capacities,  the  expectant 
sympathies  of  those  alive  to  God.  For  all  this  there  is  no 
preparation  like  a  round  of  pastoral  visits. 

These  visits,  too,  establish  relations  between  the  minister 
and  those  who  are  to  be  his  auditors  which  greatly  add  to 
their  interest  in  his  sermons.  He  listens  to  them  in  the  house 
that  they  may  listen  to  him  in  the  pulpit.  He  thus  changes 
their  point  of  view  in  reference  to  his  sermons.  One  with 
whom  the  pastor  has  conversed  on  vital,  personal  religion 
turns  to  the  preacher  not  merely  his  critical  and  intellectual, 
but  his  sympathetic  nature.  This  is  the  secret  of  effectiveness 
in  many  a  pastorate,  even  where  there  has  not  been  brilliant 
pulpit  eloquence.  The  pastor  has  established  personal  rela- 
tions with  his  hearers,  has  shown  an  interest  in  their  joys  and 
sorrows,  and  to  them  even  his  least  elaborate  sermons  are 
clothed  with  power. 

By  pastoral  \dsits,  too,  the  minister  may  supplement  his 
work  as  a  preacher.     He  can  supply  and  fill  out  what  is  lack- 


PASTORAL    VISITATION  183 

ing  in  that  more  impersonal  work.  Having  carefully  enun- 
ciated the  principles  from  the  pulpit,  he  goes  on  the  week-day 
into  the  private  house  to  apply  the  truth  to  the  individual 
hearer.  The  preacher  must  have  a  distinct  aim.  '^  Some  aim 
at  nothing  and  hit  it."  Said  a  parishioner  recently  of  a  ser- 
mon of  his  pastor :  ^^  He  preached  to-day,  not  to  the  Jews,  but 
at  us  Yankees."  Dr.  Theodore  Cuyler  has  said :  "  After  an 
effective  Sunday's  work,  go  around  among  your  flock  as  Napo- 
leon rode  over  the  field  after  a  battle,  to  see  where  the  shot 
struck,  and  who  were  among  the  wounded."  The  minister 
needs  to  perfect  himself  in  both  directions — by  study  and  by 
visiting — for  highest  usefulness.  The  two  offices  of  preacher 
and  pastor  need  to  go  together.  A  preacher  who  is  diligent  in 
visiting  will  gain  topics,  plans,  methods  of  treatment  for  his 
sermons,  and  thus  secure  endless  variety,  because  he  will 
never  exhaust  the  practical  applications  of  truth. 

Third.  Pastoral  visitation  meets  many  whom  the  pulpit  does 
not  reach.  In  every  community  there  are  the  old,  the  sick, 
the  sorrowing,  and  the  careless.  The  pastor  is  the  commis- 
sioned messenger  to  these,  and  pastoral  visits  are  often  the 
only  means  he  has  to  adapt  instruction,  encouragement,  com- 
fort, and  admonition  to  each. 

Besides,  there  are  many  to  whom  a  visit  is  the  opportunity 
they  crave  for  special  questions  or  for  advice,  who  wiU  not 
have  the  courage  or  take  the  trouble  to  make  formal  applica- 
tion to  the  pastor  except  as  he  puts  himself  in  their  way  and 
invites  their  confidence.  In  the  privacy  and  stillness  of  this 
friendly  pastoral  intercourse  in  their  own  homes,  barriers  are 
broken  down.     They  have  been  sought  and  they  are  found. 

Fourth.  Its  practical  connection  with  conversions  and 
revivals.  It  tends  to  bring  to  the  crisis  which  results  in  con- 
version. Preaching  needs  to  be  followed  up,  so  that  the 
minister  may  be  both  sower  and  reaper.  Preaching,  if  it  be 
what  it  ought  to  be,  tends  to  produce  an  impression,  to  lead 
to  a  decision ;  but  coming  at  intervals  of  a  week,  the  impression 
is  too  often  evanescent.  Hence,  the  practice  has  arisen  of 
holding  protracted  meetings  or  of  calling  in  the  aid  of  so- 
called  evangelists  to  labor  continuously  for  a  given  period, 
that  impressions  maj^be  repeated — a  method  that,  judiciously 


184  THE    PASTOR    AT    WORK 

employed,  is  often  productive  of  good  results.  Now,  without 
disparaging  this  method,  we  believe  that  systematic  pastoral 
visiting  can  be  more  successful  and  show  better  and  larger 
results.  It  has  been  so  employed  and  has  been  rich  in  fruits ; 
and  it  is  an  evil  day  for  a  church  when  this  is  neglected  and 
mere  mechanical,  spasmodic,  and  temporary  appliances  are 
substituted  for  it.  The  pastor  is  himself  to  "do  the  work  of 
an  evangelist";  and  doing  this  work  steadily,  faithfully,  as 
Baxter  and  Chalmers  did,  is  the  surest  way  to  bring  serious 
thoughts  to  an  issue,  to  build  up  a  church,  to  "  make  full 
proof  of  the  ministry." 

Fifth.  A  means  of  cementing  the  pastoral  relation.  Of  late 
years  pastorates  have  become  of  short  duration.  Hardly  is  a 
minister  settled  —  settled?  he  is  hardly  permitted  to  light — 
before  the  question  of  change  begins  to  be  agitated.  May  not 
the  decline  of  pastoral  visitation  be  in  part  an  explanation  of 
this  !  The  pastor's  personal  religious  life  is  not  brought  into 
contact  with  the  people,  and  the  only  bond  between  them  is  his 
preaching ;  and  when  the  novelty  of  his  voice  and  manner  has 
passed  away,  they  are  not  held  to  him. 

Besides,  when  he  is  not  faithful  to  them  in  private,  they 
feel  that  he  is  not  earnest  in  his  public  performances.  On  the 
Lord's  day  he  comes  before  them  proclaiming  and  urging  the 
most  solemn  truths,  but  during  the  week  he  does  nothing 
expressive  of  his  concern  for  their  welfare.  Such  apparent 
inconsistency  weakens  their  confidence.  His  heart  may  yearn 
for  them,  but  they  do  not  know  it.  This,  too,  is  a  most  effect- 
ive way  to  keep  the  whole  society  united.  The  pastor,  if 
not  known,  is  misunderstood  or  misjudged,  and  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  church  the  slight  alienation  from  him  extends 
to  what  he  represents.  Little  jealousies  arise  between  mem- 
bers of  the  congregation,  or  between  two  families,  which  he 
might  quickly  discover  and  dissipate;  little  quarrels  begin, 
which,  taken  in  time,  before  they  become  public  property,  he 
might  easily  adjust.  The  good  pastor  moving  among  the 
families  of  his  parish,  like  the  shuttle  of  the  weaver  plying 
back  and  forth,  weaves  and  binds  them  together,  making  them 
one  fabric.  New  bonds  of  sympathy  should  hold  the  pastor 
more  firmly  year  by  year  in  the  hearts  of  his  people,  and  hold 
them  more  powerfully  as  one  through  him. 


PASTORAL    VISITATION  185 

Of  the  value  aud  feasibility  of  pastoral  visitation,  abundant 
testimony  is  furnished  by  the  experience  of  successful  pastors 
in  large  and  difficult  parishes. 

Dr.  William  M.  Taylor,  addressing  theological  students,  says: 
"  You  wiU  make  a  great  mistake  if  you  undervalue  the  visita- 
tion of  your  people.  The  pulpit  is  your  throne,  no  doubt,  but 
then  a  throne  is  stable  as  it  rests  on  the  affections  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  to  get  their  affections  you  must  visit  them  in  their 
dwellings." 

Dr.  John  Hall,  speaking  to  a  similar  audience,  says :  ^'  Pains 
should  be  taken  that  nothing  prevents  your  making  pastoral 
visits.  It  is  very  necessary  for  you  to  know  the  people  in  their 
homes  and  for  the  people  to  know  you.  The  little  children 
and  the  young  people  should  know  you.  The  men  should 
know  you.  Do  not  begrudge  the  time  thus  spent.  In  freely 
conversing  with  humble  people,  you  will  get  side-lights  or  par- 
ticular testimony  that  will  make  you  a  stronger  man  and  a 
better  minister  for  many  a  day  to  come."  Bishop  Simpson 
says:  ^^I  had  much  timidity  when  I  entered  the  ministry. 
But  I  felt  that  I  must  go ;  the  church  bade  me  go ;  I  had 
promised  God  I  would  go ;  so  I  went  in  the  Master's  name. 
Such  visits  made  me  better,  taught  me  to  feel  for  the  people, 
and  to  break  to  them  the  bread  of  life  with  more  fitness. 
In  a  revival  that  followed,  out  of  nearly  three  hundred 
who  came  for  prayer  there  were  very  few  with  whom  I 
had  not  previously  conversed,  and  I  knew  how  to  enter 
into  their  sympathies  and  to  point  them  to  the  Lamb  of 
God."  Dr.  Francis  Wayland,  in  a  plea  to  pastors  on  this  sub- 
ject, said:  "If,  at  last,  it  be  said  that  aU  this  is  beneath  the 
dignity  of  our  profession,  and  that  we  cannot  expect  an  edu- 
cated man  to  spend  his  time  in  visiting  mechanics  in  their  shops, 
and  in  sitting  down  with  women  engaged  in  theii'  domestic 
labor,  to  converse  with  them  on  the  subject  of  religion,  to  this 
objection  I  have  no  reply  to  offer.  Let  the  objector  present 
his  case  in  its  full  force  to  Him  who  on  his  journey  to  GaHlee 
sat  thus  on  the  well,  and  held  a  memorable  conversation  with 
a  woman  of  Samaria." 

No  pastor  can  afford  to  neglect  this  direct  and  personal  con- 
tact with  his  people,  and  the  people  can  lend  efficient  aid  to 
the  pastor  in  this  work. 


18G  THE    PASTOR    AT    WORK 

They  can  encoura^^^e  him  in  devising  a  systematic  plan,  join 
with  him  in  carrying  it  out,  and  follow  him  in  thought  and 
prayer  as  he  goes  from  house  to  house. 

In  cases  of  special  need,  as  of  sickness,  of  an  expressed 
desire  to  sec  him,  of  important  change  of  recent  removal  to  the 
parish,  they  can  notify  the  i)astor. 

In  receiving  a  visit  from  him  they  can  welcome  him  as 
engaged  in  direct  nunisterial  work,  and  regard  him  in  it  as 
something  more  than  a  diligent  '^  diner-out,"  a  busy  gossip, 
an  incumbent  of  a  "  living,"  an  aindess  social  caller.  They 
can  let  him  be  their  pastor  and  render  themselves  accessible 
and  transparent  to  him.  They  can  direct  conversation  so  as 
to  facilitate  his  accpiaintance  with  their  special  (juestionings 
and  diiUculties.  The  minister  is  often  balked  in  his  jmrpose 
by  the  tendency  of  some  to  dwell  on  their  neighbors^  faults, 
to  recount  their  bodily  ailments  or  their  fancied  slights,  to  air 
their  sj)ecial  notions  or  hobbies,  instead  of  regarding  the  visit 
as  an  (Ji)portunity  for  mutual  ac(iuaintance  and  a  fresh  means 
for  religious  helj)  and  instruction. 

They  can  refrain  from  that  complaining  tone  that  meets 
the  pastor  with  censure  for  not  coming  before,  or  for  not 
coming  often.  If  he  be  known  to  be  systematic  in  his  work, 
faithful  in  his  study,  ready  in  meeting  the  sick  and  inquiring, 
the  poor  and  the  aged,  he  should  have  the  benefit  of  the  sup- 
position that  he  is  wisely  dividing  his  time  according  to  his 
strength,  to  what  he  knows  to  be  the  best  method  of  work,  or 
to  what,  in  his  comprehension  of  the  whole,  he  sees  to  be  the 
most  pressing  claims.  Sometimes  a  simple  arithmetical  cal- 
culation will  show  that  all  cannot  be  often  visited  without 
overtaxing  human  strength,  and  that  some  cannot  be  often 
visited  without  neglecting  others. 

They  need  not  summon  the  ghost  of  some  former  pastor  to 
affriglit  or  humble  his  successor.  That  former  pastor  may 
have  had  special  facility  in  this  kind  of  work,  and  the  very 
reason  why  he  ceased  to  be  the  i)astor  may  have  been  unfaith- 
fulness to  his  study,  or  because  he  overtaxed  himself  by  pas- 
toral work;  and  yet  such  a  one  is  often  kept  as  a  measuring- 
rod  for  those  who  come  after  him.  His  method  may  or  may 
not  have  been  the  best  for  him,  but  the  present  pastor  must  be 


PASTORAL    VISITATION  187 

left  at  liberty  conscientiously  to  work  out  what  is  best  for 
himself. 

They  should  not  begrudge  him  the  time,  when,  unless  there 
be  special  need,  he  is  left  to  consider  himself  and  to  pass  by 
as  though  he  could  not  take  up  the  burden  of  any  —  times 
when  he  must  get  away  and  be  by  himself.  Nothing  is  more 
important  in  visiting  than  freshness  of  spirit,  and  the  pastor 
should  not  be  denied  the  i)rivilege  of  proper  recreation. 

Sometimes  the  demands  made  upon  the  pastor  are  unrea- 
sonable and  selfish,  and  are  made  to  increase  the  apparent 
importance  of  those  who  urge  them,  and  arise  from  a  desire 
to  be  known  as  specially  familiar  with  him.  There  is  an 
unjust  exaction  which  stands  in  the  way  of  free  and  friendly 
intercourse,  and  attaches,  or  seeks  to  attach,  the  minister  as 
the  property  of  the  few.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the 
minister  is  to  be  the  pastor  of  all,  and  that  his  influence 
should  not  be  circumscribed  by  the  grasping  of  any. 

They  can  aid  him  by  respecting  his  appointments.  For 
this,  it  is  well  that  he  have  a  certain  system  of  study  and  of 
visitation,  and  that  this  be  known,  so  that  arrangements  for 
other  things  in  which  he  is  included  may  be  made  in  accord- 
ance with  that.  Family  arrangements  may  be  made  to  con- 
form in  some  degree  to  his  method,  so  that  the  benefit  of  his 
visit  may  be  secured  by  all. 

They  can  furnish  him  direct  assistance  in  reaching  the 
whole  congregation,  sometimes  by  providing  means  of  convey- 
ance from  one  part  of  the  parish  to  another,  sometimes  by 
supx>lying  one  or  more  helpers  in  the  work.  Many  of  the 
larger  churches  in  rapidly  growing  communities  need  the  ser- 
vice of  more  than  one  man  in  the  ministry  to  prevent  the 
discontent  and  the  wasteful  division  of  the  strong  churches. 
Many  times  the  question  of  forming  a  new  church  could  be 
met  by  supplying  an  assistant  pastor.  One  large  church, 
well  manned,  may  be  more  efficient  and  have  a  stronger 
hold  upon  a  community  than  two  of  moderate  size  that 
are  struggling  to  meet  current  expenses.  The  custom  of 
having  a  j^lurality  of  elders,  as  in  the  early  churches,  may 
be  profitably  revived,  that  pastoral  work  may  be  thoroughly 
done. 


188  THE    PASTOR   AT    WORK 

The  sick  are  to  be  regarded  as  having  a  first  claim  upon 
the  attention  of  the  pastor.  They  cannot  go  to  him  and 
cannot  avail  themselves  of  the  ordinary  means  of  help  and 
consolation,  and  they  more  than  others  need  to  be  visited, 
that  they  may  thus  partake  of  what  they  require. 

Many  appeals  join  to  make  the  time  of  sickness  a  special 
opportunity  for  the  pastor.  This  is  often  the  only  door 
through  which  he  can  enter  some  households  successfully. 
The  helplessness,  the  feeling  of  need,  the  isolation,  the  disap- 
pointment of  plans,  the  sober  view  of  life,  the  fear  of  death, 
perhaps —  all  these  call  for  the  sympathy  and  healing  which 
the  pastor  is  appointed  to  render. 

The  sympathy  and  the  fidelity  of  the  religious  guide  and 
teacher  are  then,  too,  apt  to  be  appreciated.  Sickness,  even 
when  temporary,  places  a  man  in  a  situation  in  which  the  min- 
ister has  strong  hold  upon  him.  It  is  a  kind  of  extraordinary 
Sabbath,  the  only  real  rest-day  that  many  allow  themselves 
to  have  for  thought  and  consideration  upon  higher  things. 
And  not  only  is  it  an  opportunity  to  reach  the  sick,  but  it 
increases  the  pastor^s  influence  with  the  friends,  and  indeed 
with  the  whole  congregation.  Every  one  is  sensible  of  the 
fitness  and  the  merit  of  his  care  and  zeal  at  such  a  time,  even 
without  appreciating  sufficiently  the  entire  object  and  results 
of  such  work.  Much  can  be  done  in  this  way  to  strengthen 
the  pastor's  popularity  and  general  usefulness,  and  many  a 
pastor  has  found  that  conquests  of  families  and  neighbor- 
hoods as  future  attendants  upon  church  are  thus  made.  Be- 
sides, he  remembers  that  Christ's  approval  rests  upon  those  of 
whom  he  can  say :  ^'  I  was  sick  and  ye  visited  me^' ;  also  that 
"  Himself  bare  our  sickness  and  carried  our  infirmities."  He 
knows,  too,  that  sickness  often  has  this  providential  aspect, 
that  then  the  Holy  Spirit  uses  the  stillness  and  the  seriousness 
of  the  soul  to  good  account ;  that  God  then  in  a  special  man- 
ner pleads  with  men,  and  through  the  solitary  and  thoughtful 
hours  of  illness,  as  through  the  mazes  of  a  wilderness,  the 
Good  Shepherd  goes  after  the  lost  sheep  till  he  find  it. 

Here,  too,  the  people  can  famish  efi&cient  aid  to  the  pastor. 
They  can  keep  him  informed  of  cases  of  sickness  in  the  parish. 
Information  should  be  given  at  once  by  friends  and  neighbors 


PASTORAL    VISITATION  189 

of  the  fact  of  sickness,  aud  that  a  visit  from  him  is  desired. 
For,  while  a  true  pastor  will  not  wait  to  be  invited,  yet  a  duty 
rests  upon  the  sick  and  their  friends  toward  him,  as  is  evident 
from  James  v.  14.  The  pastor  is  not  to  be  blamed  if  he  do 
not  know,  by  instinct,  every  instance  of  sickness.  In  the  case 
of  many  who  are  in  feeble  health,  and  who  are  alternately  at 
chui-ch  and  absent  from  it,  he  may  not  know  whether  or  not 
some  one  particular  detention  be  out  of  the  regular  course  of 
things.  Much  misunderstanding  and  even  hard  feeling  might 
be  prevented  were  pains  taken  by  friends  to  inform  a  busy 
man  of  what  might  escape  his  notice.  Every  true  pastor  desires 
to  be  with  his  people  in  their  times  of  sorrow  and  need. 

The  pastor  can  be  helped  for  his  visits  upon  the  sick  by 
being  made  familiarly  acquainted  with  aU  the  members  of  the 
family  before.  Let  parents  and  teachers  make  effort  to  have 
their  childi-en  know  the  pastor,  so  that  when  a  special  visit  is 
necessary,  it  shall  not  have  a  strange  and  alarming  character. 
Let  the  pastor  enter  into  the  joys  and  festivities  of  the  house- 
hold, into  its  birthday  and  other  joyful  anniversaries,  as  weU 
as  into  its  sick-days  and  its  funerals,  that  the  true  pastoral 
relation  and  sympathy  be  established.  The  writer  knows  of 
one  pastor  to  whom  many  of  the  young  people  are  accustomed 
to  go  when  their  marriage  engagement  is  to  be  made  public, 
that  the  announcement  may  come  through  him.  Where  such 
a  relation  exists,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  times  of  special 
need — as  in  sickness  and  soitow — in  securing  a  welcome 
for  him. 

Let  the  invitation  to  him  in  sickness  be  sent  so  promptly, 
too,  that  it  shall  not  seem  as  if  the  only  use  for  a  minister  in 
the  sick-room  were  to  administer  extreme  unction  or  to  pre- 
pare the  mind  for  death.  He  is  a  friend  and  consoler,  a  teacher 
and  companion,  and  not  merely  a  confessor  and  priest. 

The  pastor  can  be  aided  by  great  candor  on  the  part  both 
of  the  sick  and  of  their  friends,  and  by  such  confidence  in  him 
as  intrusts  the  case  to  him  as  the  spiritual  physician.  On  his 
part  great  wisdom,  gentleness,  tact,  and  courage  are  required  j 
but  in  the  exercise  of  these  he  may  be  greatly  hindered  unless 
there  be  confidence  shown  toward  him.  Let  the  people  look 
upon  sickness  as  furnishing  to  the  spiritual  guide  great  oppor- 


190  THE    PASTOR   AT    WORK 

tunities  for  good.  It  is  at  such  times  that  a  pastor  should 
realize  in  himself  and  exhibit  in  his  presence  the  power  of  the 
Gospel.  We  honor  our  risen  and  ascended  Head  by  believing 
that  he  is  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly  above  all  that  we 
ask  and  think,  that  he  is  able  to  quicken  men  dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins  -,  and  if,  as  Son  of  Man  on  earth,  he  could  say 
to  the  sick  of  palsy,  "  Take  up  thy  bed  and  walk,"  much  more 
as  the  Son  of  God,  with  power  by  the  resurrection  from  the 
dead,  can  he  say  to  the  sick  man,  "  Son,  thy  sins  be  forgiven 
thee."  Weak  as  the  minister  may  be,  he  may  wield  a  rod 
mightier  than  that  of  Moses ;  and  that  pastor  to  whom  has 
been  imparted  the  ministerial  gifts  of  faith,  of  sympathy,  of 
love  is  a  true  minister  of  consolation,  and  can  go  forth  as  a 
prince  with  God  to  prevail  by  sick  and  dying  beds. 


Ill 

FUNERALS 

HOW  shall  we  treat  our  dead  ?  So  much  has  this  subject 
to  do  with  what  is  dearest  and  most  sacred  to  the  heart, 
that  the  discussion  of  it  is  a  matter  of  peculiar  difficulty  and 
delicacy.  Yet  as  the  matter  is  one  of  great  practical  impor- 
tance, its  thorough  and  candid  consideration  seems  demanded 
on  the  part  of  pastors  and  people. 

Since  the  beginning  of  the  world,  so  far  as  we  have  any 
account,  a  vast  amount  of  conventional  nonsense,  not  to  call 
it  by  a  worse  name,  has  followed  in  the  wake  of  death.  Rend- 
ing the  hair  and  rending  the  garments;  shearing  the  hair  and 
shearing  the  horses'  manes ;  covering  the  whole  person  with 
a  veil ;  sprinkling  dust  or  ashes  on  the  head ;  going  bare- 
headed, barefooted,  and  unwashed ;  rolling  in  the  dirt ;  beat- 
ing the  breast ;  lacerating  the  face ;  staining  the  hands  and 
feet  with  indigo ;  hired  women  tearing  then*  arms,  their 
faces,  and  their  hair  as  they  dance  and  howl  before  the  house 
of  the  dead,  or  else  in  forlornest  deslicibilU  flying  and  cry- 
ing through  the  streets  j  burning  portions  of  the  survivors^ 
bodies ;  burning  hapless  widows,  willing  and  unwilling ;  going 
with  unchanged  garments,  untrimmed  nails,  and  unshaven 
face  for  thirty  or  fifty  days;  bereaved  men  assuming  women's 
garments  to  mourn  in ;  filling  bottles  with  saved-up  mourn- 
ing tears  ;  painting  the  lower  half  of  the  face  black ;  knock- 
ing out  the  front  teeth ;  screaming  and  screeching,  groaning, 
howling,  and  wailing;  piercing  the  flesh  with  arrows  and 
sharp  stones ;  cutting  off  quantities  of  human  fingers  to  be 
hung  above  the  tomb;  laying  sixty  blows  on  the  bereaved, 
and  then  marching  these  doubly  afflicted  souls  into  a  year's 
exile ;  for  thirteen  months  of  half,  or  what  might  be  called 
abbreviated  mourning,  sleeping  on  the  bare  ground,  with 
leaves  instead  of  garments  for  a  covering ;  on  the  tenth  day, 
women  scourging  all  the  men,  except  the  highest  in  rank ;  at 
an  imperial  death  forbidding  the  cutting  of  hair  for  a  hundi'ed 
days,  and  sometimes  the  whole  nation,  feigning  madness  from 


192  THE    PASTOR    AT    WORK 

desperate  grief,  going  about  robbing  and  murdering  and  com- 
mitting all  manner  of  crimes, —  in  short,  there  is  no  end  to 
fashion's  funereal  follies. 

With  the  advance  of  civilization  there  have  been  some 
modifications,  as  among  the  Jews,  the  giving  up  of  the  rend- 
ing of  garments,  their  incision  symbolizing  the  deed.  There 
is  also  a  general  toning  down  of  the  more  noisy  and  violent 
demonstrations.  But  as  yet  we  see  hardly  the  beginning  of  the 
cure  of  this  widespread,  deep-seated  barbarism — deep-seated 
because  connected  with  what  is  most  sacred  in  our  nature. 

Not  long  since,  at  a  Chinese  funeral  in  New- York,  there 
were  scattered  from  the  hearse,  all  along  the  road,  slips  of  rice- 
paper,  to  delay  the  devil,  who,  in  his  customary  pursuit  of  the 
dead,  stops  to  examine  them.  Thus  the  mourners  gained 
time  to  hurry  the  body  into  the  ground  before  that  personage 
could  reach  it.  After  the  filling  of  the  grave,  red  candles 
and  bunches  of  odorous  matches  being  placed  at  its  foot  and 
ignited,  the  clothing  of  the  deceased  was  laid  on  them  and 
consumed.  When  meat,  rice,  and  tea  had  been  deposited  for 
the  journey  of  the  departed,  every  Chinaman  approached  the 
grave  and  made  a  number  of  profound  parting  bows !  So 
much  for  heathendom. 

And  how  do  we  find  it  in  Christian  lands  ?  In  England, 
with  all  its  enlightenment,  mourners  are  in  some  places  an 
understood  part  of  the  funeral  procession,  though  now  ex- 
cused from  all  pretense-making  except  that  of  silent  grief. 
In  that  country,  as  weU  as  on  the  Continent,  to  watch  one  of 
those  lugubrious  processions  —  coaches  and  coachmen  alike 
funereal  —  with  the  forlorn  ''  mutes  "  draped  from  head  to  foot 
in  black,  and  creeping  gloomily  along  at  so  many  pennies  or 
groschen  an  hour,  it  is  enough  to  make  one  feel  that  the  end 
of  the  world  is  come.  And  deepening  the  impression,  formerly, 
at  a  distinguished  death,  herald-like,  there  walked  before  the 
hearse  men  holding  aloft  a  gumpheon,  which  is,  being  inter- 
preted, a  mourning  pole  with  sable-covered  top.  Anybody  or 
anything  in  white  would  not  be  tolerated  5  all  must  be  black, 
black,  everywhere  the  blackest  black. 

Yet,  once  among  the  French  and  Spanish  black  was  white, 
as  indeed  it  is  at  the  present  time  in  Japan  and  China,  white 


FUNERALS  193 

being  the  prescribed  mourning  color.  Even  with  the  Scotch^ 
mourners  wear  white  cambric.  At  the  death  of  the  dowager 
Empress  of  China,  the  premises  appropriated  by  the  Chinese 
embassy  were  draped  in  white.  The  season  of  mourning  con- 
tinued one  month,  during  which  time  attaches  of  the  lega- 
tion refrained  from  all  social  entertainments  and  wore  white 
cotton  gowns. 

With  us,  also,  even  in  this  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  fashion  abates  not  a  jot  nor  a  tittle  of  her  claim  to 
the  blackest  garments  and  the  deepest  crapes  and  the  longest 
veils,  and  the  most  punctilious  withdrawals  and  isolations, 
and  the  heaviest  funereal  borderings  of  cards,  letters,  and 
envelopes,  and  all  that  outward  paraphernalia  which,  as  to 
the  real  expression  of  grief,  seems  so  much  and  is  so  little. 
Indeed,  her  despotism  sometimes  becomes  a  grim  mockery ; 
for  if  a  marriage  takes  place  among  her  subjects  during  ''full 
mourning,"  even  the  wedding-cards  must  go  out  to  the  world 
wearing  a  black  border  of  grief.  Nor  does  her  tyranny  end 
here  ;  for  in  due  time  the  mourners  must  come  out  from  their 
moui-ning  even  as  they  went  in  —  according  to  exact  rules 
drawn  up  and  enforced  by  modistes  and  milliners.  The  same 
autocrat  that  shut  up  these  her  mourning  subjects  has  no  idea 
of  permitting  them  to  remain  forever  immured  in  the  sanctu- 
ary and  the  habiliments  of  sorrow.  They  must  return  to  gay- 
ety  and  bright  colors,  however,  only  through  the  intermediate 
stages  of  lavender  and  purple.  Hence,  by  the  time  they  are 
in  the  last  stage,  the  cheerful  garments  which,  during  all  this 
term  of  mourning  and  half -mourning,  have  been  lying  idle, 
are  entirely  out  of  vogue,  both  as  to  matter  and  manner, 
requiring  fresh  outlays. 

As,  in  some  countries,  families  of  hmited  means  have  been 
financially  ruined  by  the  expensive  feasts  continued  for  weeks, 
at  which  "funeral  baked  meats"  were  freely  fiu-nished,  so 
among  us  are  those  who  never  recover  from  the  pecuniary 
embarrassments  brought  upon  them,  not  by  Death,  but  by  his 
senseless  accompaniments. 

Think  of  what  usually  occurs  when  the  grim  King  enters  a 
dwelling.  Not  a  moment  for  quiet  recollection  and  commun- 
ing with  the  dead,  but,  instead,  a  house-clearing  from  attic  to 
13 


194  THE    PASTOR    AT    WORK 

cellar;  milliners  and  di'essmakers  filling  tlie  rooms  with  their 
somber  loads  and  engrossing"  the  attention  of  the  whole  house- 
hold, and  the  arranging  upon  and  around  the  elegant  casket  of 
multitudinous  flowers,  clipped  short  and  fantastically  wired. 
In  due  time  comes  the  enwrapping  the  bereaved  in  sable 
weeds,  graduated  according  to  theii-  kinship  with  the  deceased, 
and  the  shutting  them  up  by  themselves  for  the  funeral  ser- 
vices ;  the  exposing  to  the  gaze  of  vulgar  curiosity  the  face  of 
the  dear  one,  who  in  life  would  have  shrunk  from  such  an 
ordeal ;  the  planting  of  the  minister  at  the  middle  or  head  of 
the  stairs,  where  he  is  exposed  to  draughts  from  the  perpetual 
opening  and  shutting  of  doors,  where  he  can  neither  see  nor 
be  seen  by  his  auditors,  and  where  his  words  fall  against 
senseless  walls,  and  must  sometimes  travel  round  and  round 
in  order  to  reach  the  chamber  of  mourners. 

Then  comes  the  caUiag  off  in  business  tones  of  a  long  list 
of  names  ceremoniously  graded  from  the  nearest  of  kin  down 
to  the  fortieth  cousinship,  every  one  responding  to  the  call  by 
being  marched  down  the  stairs  and  out-of-doors,  to  be  put 
into  a  doleful  black  carriage,  there  to  sit  in  gloomy  state  till 
the  train  of  coaches,  more  or  less,  but  generally  more,  is 
ready  to  start,  and  then  to  move  slowly  on  behind  the  nodding 
plumes  in  the  solemn,  long-drawn-out  procession,  with  the  sad 
death-kneU  sounding  at  regular  intervals  and  striking  a  chiU 
to  the  aching  heart,  and,  finally,  the  standing  round  the  open 
grave  while  the  clods  are  thrown  upon  the  coffin, — what 
excruciating  scenes  are  these  for  the  survivor ! 

Surely  aU  this  dismal  ceremonial,  this  sepulchral  display, 
these  funeral  drapings  and  trappings  savor  more  of  heathen- 
dom than  of  Christianity.  And  what  are  these  symbols  of 
woe  understood  to  represent !  The  sorrow  of  the  survivor  ? 
By  no  means.  They  are  not  unfrequently  a  decorous  veil  to 
hide  indifference,  or  even  a  sense  of  relief.  They  are  simply 
the  fashion,  and  although  they  may,  and  do  often,  accompany 
the  sincerest  mourning,  they  have  not  the  smallest  necessary 
connection  with  it,  and  are  frequently  a  serious  di'awback  to 
the  real  benefit  of  affliction. 

It  is  argued  that  mourning  garments  are  a  protection  against 
careless  or  disturbing  approaches.  This  may  sometimes  be  the 
case,  yet  they  are  so   often  regarded  as  the  formalities  of 


FUNERALS  195 

fashion,  or  the  exactions  of  mere  custom,  as  ahnost  to  have 
lost  their  natural  association.  On  the  other  hand,  they  fre- 
quently expose  one  to  a  painful  publicity,  being  the  fullest 
proclamation  of  the  most  private,  sacred  sorrow. 

Then  what  a  gloomy  aspect  do  these  somber  garments  give 
to  a  household.  A  widowed  mother,  who  had  worn  black  for 
years,  once  told  me  that  she  had  often  regretted  her  course,  as 
it  had  been  a  great  trial  to  her  only  child,  an  artistic,  sensitive 
boy,  who  used  to  intreat  her  to  wear  bright  colors  like  other 
mothers.  Think  of  thus  needlessly  clouding  the  young  days 
of  a  loving  child  ! 

But  again,  what  does  all  this  harrowing  display  represent  ? 
On  what  occasions  do  we  wrap  ourselves  and  everything  about 
us  in  this  dismal  drapery  ?  When  our  dear  ones  have  crossed 
the  dark  river  and  reached  the  shining  shore;  when  their 
weeping  is  turned  into  rejoicing;  when  earth  is  exchanged 
for  heaven.  Then,  so  far  as  that  remediless  sense  of  loss  is 
concerned  which  often  weighs  down  the  survivor,  there  is 
exactly  as  much  reason  for  wearing  mourning  twenty  j^ears 
as  two.  The  loving  heart  never  forgets  ;  years  after  the  waves 
of  life  have  closed  over  the  memory  of  the  departed  ones 
there  burst  over  us  now  and  again  fresh  storms  of  grief,  and 
our  tears  are  no  less  bitter,  our  yearnings  no  less  passionate, 
then  when  the  blow  first  fell.  Yet,  long  ago,  custom-bound, 
we  passed  from  full  to  half  mourning,  and  are  now  in  our 
wonted  cheerful  colors. 

It  is  bad  enough  to  have  Mrs.  Grundy  tyrannize  over  us  in 
our  days  of  sunshine.  But  when  my  loved  ones  are  stricken 
down,  bar  her  out  from  my  doors.  As  I  sit  beside  my  dead, 
let  her  not  intrude  with  her  black  hats  for  me  to  try  on,  and 
her  long  veils  of  unwholesome  crape  to  cover  me  withal.  Let 
her  not  come  near  me  at  such  a  time  to  fit  me  according  to 
the  latest  mode,  to  drape  me  in  trailing  sable  garments,  loaded 
with  folds  of  crape,  proportioned,  not  to  my  love  for  the 
departed,  but  to  the  relationship  between  us.  However  she 
may  in  general  dominate  my  life,  at  such  a  time  I  will  have 
none  of  her. 

No  one,  of  course,  advocates  the  wearing  of  flaunting  colors 
or  gay  attire  on  such  occasions.  That  would  be  in  as  bad  taste 
as  appearing  on  the  streets  in  party  costume.     There  is  a 


196  THE    PASTOR    AT    WORK 

fitness  of  things  which  should  always  be  consulted.  But  an 
ordinary  black  dress,  or  one  of  any  sober  color,  such  as  are  in 
every  wardrobe,  is  entirely  appropriate. 

Is  there  not  in  this  question  an  appeal  to  one's  benevolence  ? 
Our  sympathy  for  the  poor  in  their  every-day  life  is  often  so 
heavily  taxed,  that  when  we  hear  of  a  great  mortality  among 
them,  we  have  a  feeling  that  the  occasion  is  almost  one  for  con- 
gratulation rather  than  regret,  in  the  lessening  number  to  be 
clothed  and  fed.  But  a  second  thought  reverses  this  feeling. 
For  in  addition  to  the  fact  that  natural  affection  is  as  strong 
with  the  poor  as  with  the  rich,  we  remember  that  it  often 
costs  more  to  die  than  to  live.  And  this  is  because  our 
customs  on  such  occasions  are  so  utterly  senseless,  to  use  no 
harder  word,  that  in  following  them  people  are  sometimes 
involved  in  expenses  from  the  effects  of  which  they  never 
recover. 

A  funeral  is  the  one  thing  in  which  the  poorest  feel  that 
they  cannot  economize.  A  very  needy  woman  with  a  flock  of 
little  ones,  having  lost  her  husband,  a  few  friends  gave  her  a 
hundred  dollars  for  food  and  clothing.  After  the  funeral  she 
called  on  some  of  her  friends  for  help,  saying  that  her  children 
were  starving.  "But  what  has  become  of  that  hundred 
doUars  ? "  "  Oh,  I  spent  all  that  on  the  funeral."  Notwith- 
standing the  doctor's  bill  and  many  other  expenses  incidental 
to  sickness,  such  people  consider  it  absolutely  necessary  to 
follow,  as  far  as  possible,  in  the  wake  of  the  rich.  Even  a 
plain  whitewood  coffin  with  trimmings  can  hardly  be  obtained 
for  less  than  twelve  dollars,  while  the  charge  for  an  ordinary 
hearse  is  from  five  to  ten ;  of  a  single  carriage  from  two  to 
six,  according  to  the  locality;  and  of  a  grave  from  eight 
dollars  upward.  Thus  the  cost  of  a  burial  service  seldom  falls 
below  twenty-five  or  thirty  dollars,  and  from  that  point  ranges 
all  along,  sometimes  coming  up  as  high  as  three  thousand 
dollars,  the  sum  expended  not  long  since  at  the  funeral  of  a 
young  girl  in  one  of  our  large  cities. 

Sometimes  all  the  signs  and  symbols  of  mourning  are 
adopted  without  consideration,  as  a  mere  matter  of  course.  In 
other  cases,  they  are  dictated  by  the  truest  sentiment  and  the 
most  genuine  affection,  an  affection  which  cannot  do  enough 


FUNERALS  197 

to  satisfy  itself.  But  would  not  greater  reflection  modify  this 
practice  ? 

It  is  no  more  than  we  should  have  expected  from  that  grand 
woman,  Sarah  Grimke,  that  in  her  sympathy  for  the  poor,  as 
well  as  from  Christian  simplicity,  she  should  have  requested 
her  friends  to  inclose  her  remains  in  the  plainest,  most  inex- 
pensive coflfin.  There  was  nothing  somber  on  that  funeral 
occasion. 

Not  many  years  later,  her  sister,  Angelina  Grimke  Weld, 
followed  her.  In  the  account  of  the  last  rites,  we  read :  '^  The 
funeral  services  throughout  wore  no  air  of  gloom.  Somber 
crape  shrouded  no  one  with  its  dismal  tokens.  The  light  of 
a  glorious  autumn  day  streamed  in  through  uncurtained 
windows.  It  was  not  a  house  of  mourning.  No  sad  word 
said,  no  look  of  sorrow  worn.  Who  that  loved  her  did  not 
feel  that,  however  keen  the  sense  of  personal  loss,  it  was 
all  swallowed  up  in  her  blessed  deliverance  and  unspeakable 
gain  ? " 

In  the  description  of  William  Lloyd  Garrison's  funeral,  not 
many  months  after,  we  find  another  similar  delightful  instance : 
"  In  accordance  with  Mr.  Garrison's  views  of  death,  care  was 
taken  to  avoid  the  appearance  of  mourning  and  gloom,  which 
generally  characterizes  such  occasions.  The  blinds  were  open 
to  admit  the  sweet  sunlight,  the  pulpit  was  decorated  with 
flowers,  and  the  hymns  of  cheer  and  inspiration  of  which  he 
was  so  fond  were  sung." 

Contrast  the  two  modes.  The  one,  from  its  well-nigh  de- 
spairing outlook,  might  almost  be  called  pagan ;  while  the 
other  is  suggestive  of  a  blessed  immortality.  WJuj  should  we 
make  funerals  so  costly  and  so  dismal  ?  At  the  moment  when, 
above  aU  others,  we  would  be  free  to  indulge  in  memories  of 
the  departed ;  when  the  Lord  has  come  very  near  that  he  may 
impress  on  us  the  fact  that  our  home  is  within  those  gates  of 
pearl,  just  opened  to  receive  our  dear  one  ;  when  we  feel,  as 
perhaps  never  before,  how  worse  than  vain  are  aU  pretenses, 
all  serving  of  mammon,  all  worldly  ambitions, — at  such  a  time 
must  we  be  bound  tight  with  the  iron  cramps  of  custom  f 
and  must  her  grievous  burdens  be  laid,  even  then,  upon  our 
shoulders  ? 


198  THE    PASTOR   AT    WORK 

The  pastor  comes  iu  for  his  full  share  of  these  trials  and 
perplexities.  In  the  first  place,  there  is  the  getting  to  the 
funeral.  It  is  only  fitting  that  this  should  be  provided  for  by 
those  needing  his  services.  Many,  however,  it  is  to  be  hoped 
from  sheer  thoughtlessness,  give  themselves  no  concern  on  this 
point.  Near  or  far,  rain  or  shine,  in  the  heat  of  summer  and 
in  the  cold  of  winter,  he  is  expected  to  convey  himself ;  and  if  he 
owns  no  vehicle,  he  must  either  hire  one  or  his  own  feet  must 
serve  his  purpose.  There  are  clergymen  who  have  had  rather 
hard  experiences  in  this  line,  of  which  I  am  tempted  to  give 
one  or  two  instances. 

In  a  certain  town  a  minister  was  called  to  attend  a  funeral 
at  a  distance  of  four  miles,  and  over  rough  and  hilly  roads. 
He  paid  four  dollars  for  a  conveyance,  and  spent  the  whole 
day  in  going  and  returning  in  the  wind  and  rain.  ^'  A  son  of 
the  deceased  promised  to  call  and  settle.  And  he  did.  He 
brought  half  a  wagon  load  of  wet  roots  and  sticks,  which  he 
called  wood,  that  had  lain  soaking  in  a  pond  for  years.  Then 
entering  the  parsonage  with  a  satisfied  air,  he  sat  down  to 
dinner,  and  having  eaten  enough  roast  beef,  at  thirty  cents  a 
pound,  to  have  fed  all  the  family,  went  home  with  the  belief 
that  he  had  been  very  liberal  to  the  parson." 

Another  minister  tells  a  story  of  a  rich  parishioner  who, 
from  his  orchard,  manufactured  large  quantities  of  vinegar. 
"  When  his  daughter  sickened,  I  went  there  almost  every  day, 
about  five  miles  off.  When  she  died,  I  sat  up  most  of  the 
night  to  write  a  funeral  sermon.  I  called  the  next  day.  Then 
a  few  days  after  I  went,  carrying  my  vinegar-jug,  which  just 
then  happened  to  be  empty.  The  jug  was  filled,  and  as  I  did 
not  like  to  take  it  without  offering  compensation,  I  meekly 
asked,  ^  What  shaU  I  pay  you  ?  ^  ^  Well,'  said  my  good  parish- 
ioner, ^  I  generally  charge  twenty-five  cents  a  gallon ;  but  see- 
ing you  have  been  so  kind  to  me  in  my  trouble,  I  won't  charge 
you  but  twenty  cents.'  At  this  time  I  had  eleven  children, 
and  was  living  on  a  salary  of  six  hundred  dollars." 

This  is  an  exceptional  case,  yet  inconsiderateness  in  a  lesser 
degree  is  by  no  means  uncommon.  Then,  as  is  illustrated  by 
the  last  anecdote,  custom  in  many  places  requires  the  preach- 
ing of  a  funeral  sermon  at  the  death,  not  only  of  saints,  but 


FUNERALS  199 

also  of  unmistakable  sinners.  Added  to  the  amount  of  labor 
such  a  custom  involves  is  the  peculiar  difficulty  and  delicacy 
of  the  task.  Sometimes  the  minister  knows  almost  nothing 
of  the  deceased,  and,  if  he  attempts  to  give  a  portraiture  of 
character,  is  obliged  to  draw  mostly  on  his  own  imagination. 
Very  awkward  mistakes  have  happened  from  taking  things 
for  granted  on  such  occasions.  At  the  public  funeral  of  a 
rumseller,  who  had  committed  suicide  rather  than  go  to  jail, 
the  innocent  clergyman  read  the  hymn  : 

''What  though  earth's  fairest  blossoms  die?" 

Sometimes  the  minister  knows  too  much  about  the  one  whose 
death  he  is  to  signalize  by  a  funeral  sermon.  How  shall  he 
manage  so  as  to  be  true  to  his  own  convictions  and  yet  not 
give  offense  at  the  right  and  left  ?  He  can  make  use  of  the 
opportunity  to  warn  men  against  evil  courses,  but  that  is  the 
very  last  thing  the  friends  of  the  departed  will  tolerate.  For 
many  reasons,  the  usage  is  often  ^^  better  honored  in  the  breach 
than  the  observance." 

But  the  prayer,  also,  not  unfrequently  causes  the  minis- 
ter real  embarrassment.  In  this,  especially  if  there  has  been 
no  sermon,  he  is  often  expected  to  sound  the  praises  of  the 
departed,  even  in  cases  where  silence  is  the  only  fitting  thing. 
Moreover,  he  must  pray  discriminatingly  for  the  several  mem- 
bers of  the  family,  and  for  other  relatives,  near  or  remote. 
If  he  happens  to  omit  any  one,  he  may  give  offense,  and  he 
may  give  equal  offense  by  not  sapng  the  desired  thing. 

Then,  no  matter  how  long  or  cold  may  have  been  the  ride 
to  the  cemetery,  or  how  thoroughly  chilled  he  may  have 
become,  or  how  old  and  infirm  he  is,  he  must  stand  beside  the 
grave  with  uncovered  head  while  he  offers  a  prayer,  repeats 
a  passage  of  Scripture,  pronounces  the  benediction,  and,  in 
some  parts  of  the  country,  thanks  those  present  for  their 
attendance.  There  is  reason  for  congratulation,  however,  that 
he  is  not  now,  as  formerly,  obliged  to  stand  thus  exposed 
while  the  grave  is  filled  up. 

Now,  why  not  simplify  the  matter  by  committing  the  burial 
to  the  undertaker,  with  some  representative  of  the  family  to 
accompany  him  f    You  may  say  this  would  be  heartless  ;  but 


200  THE    PASTOR    AT    WORK 

remember  that  it  is  only  fashion  which  keeps  up  the  present 
expensive  and  unnatm^al  arrangement.  What  an  amount  of 
mere  punctilious  observances  would  such  a  change  at  once  put 
an  end  to  !  Even  if  there  should  be  no  change  as  to  mourning 
attire,  the  bereaved  family  would  at  least  escape  that  hurry 
and  confusion  of  preparation  immediately  following  upon  a 
death.  And  what  a  blessing  to  those  of  limited  means  would 
be  the  entire  dispensing  with  funeral  carriages  !  But,  more 
important  than  all,  are  the  considerations  of  health ;  for  many 
a  death  has  been  the  result  of  exposure  on  the  way  to  the  grave, 
and  in  the  long  waiting  there. 

There  are  many  encouraging  tokens  that  changes  in  public 
sentiment  on  all  this  matter  are  gradually  taking  place.  As 
an  indication  of  progress,  note  the  fact  that  the  clergymen  of 
Troy,  N.  Y.,  have  adopted  a  resolution  recommending  the 
omission  of  unnecessary  expenses  at  funerals,  suggesting  the 
expediency  of  consulting  the  officiating  clergyman  before 
fixing  the  time,  and  disapproving  of  the  fashion  of  costly 
mourning. 

In  Newburgh,  N.  Y.,  the  "  Ministers^  Meeting,"  where  every 
denomination  was  represented  but  the  Roman  Catholic,  unan- 
imously approved  of  the  following  resolutions : 

''1.  That  burial  services  be  limited,  so  far  as  practicable,  to  Scripture 
reading,  singing,  and  prayer. 

''  2.  That  we  deprecate  the  appointment  of  funeral  services  for  Sunday. 

''  3.  That  we  also  deprecate  the  public  exposure  of  remains. 

"  4.  That  before  the  arrangements  are  made  as  to  the  time  and  place 
of  the  burial  service,  the  convenience  of  the  officiating  clergyman  should 
be  consulted." 

One  of  the  ministers  present  submitted  the  following  con- 
siderations, which  led  to  the  action  taken  : 

"  1.  A  protracted  funeral  service  at  the  home,  especially  where  sickness 
and  death  have  occurred,  is  a  needless  exposure  of  those  in  attendance. 

"  2.  A  protracted  service,  especially  when  the  weather  is  unpleasant 
or  inclement,  when  those  convened  are  not  warmly  clad,  increases  liabil- 
ity to  exposure  of  health  in  going  to  the  grave  and  at  the  time  of  burial. 

''  3.  The  Scripture  lesson  and  the  prayer  do  ordinarily  furnish  all  the 
counsel  and  consolation  needful. 

"  4.  It  is  our  conviction  that  but  little  of  good  is  accomplished  by  funer- 
al discourses,  except  when  the  death  itself  is  exceptionally  impressive. 


FUNERALS  201 

"  5.  Ministers  are  often  embarrassed  and  brought  to  a  degree  of  dis- 
credit by  inappropriateness  of  remarks,  by  ignorance  of  peculiar  features 
of  the  life  or  family  of  the  deceased,  by  saying  too  little  or  too  much  in 
the  view  of  biased  and  prejudiced  minds  and  fear  of  giving  offense. 

"  6.  At  times  deaths  are  frequent,  especially  among  the  young  and 
infants,  when  the  delivery  of  a  discourse  serves  no  purpose  that  would 
not  be  served  as  well  by  prayer,  Scripture  reading,  and  private  conver- 
sation. 

"7.  To  omit  discourse  on  some  occasions  and  not  on  others  would  be 
offensive  to  some,  and  suggests  the  importance  of  specific  and  uniform 
rules  for  funeral  services." 

Let  us,  then,  welcome  every  indication  of  a  favorable  change. 
Occasionally,  in  the  notice  of  a  funeral,  "Ifo  floivers"  is  made 
emphatic.  The  emphasis  is  well  placed ;  for  the  presentation 
of  flowers,  unnaturally  wired  into  crosses,  and  crowns,  and 
stars,  and  all  manner  of  artificial  shapes,  has  become  such  a 
rage  that  families  are  thrown  into  serious  embarrassment  by 
a  veritable  floral  deluge.  The  strange  contrast  between  this 
holiday  adorning  and  the  somber  attire  and  gloomy  aspect 
of  the  household  would  strike  every  one  but  that  it  is  the 
fashion. 

There  are  many  who  never  put  on  mourning  garments,  and 
their  number  is  steadily  increasing.  Let  us  be  thankful  for 
every  such  example.  A  candid  discussion  of  the  extrava- 
gances and  other  evils  connected  with  this  subject  must  surely 
in  time  lead  to  great  modifications. 

The  question  of  burial  associations  in  our  churches  has 
been  raised,  and  an  instance  is  cited  of  such  an  association  in 
a  New  England  church,  the  members  paying  a  small  entrance 
fee,  and  a  tax  of  fifty  cents  at  any  death  in  their  families. 
Every  member,  whatever  may  be  his  circumstances,  is  pledged 
to  accept  this  contribution  on  occasion  of  mortality  in  his  own 
family,  so  that  the  needy  may  not  repel  it  as  a  charity.  Sim- 
ilar associations  have  been  formed  in  some  of  our  cities. 

Arrangements  for  the  poor  seem  very  desirable,  either  on  the 
part  of  cemetery  associations  or  of  the  town  or  city  govern- 
ments. There  are  some  Protestant  churches  which  own  plots 
for  the  burial  of  their  own  indigent  members,  but  as  a  general 
thing  the  Roman  Catholics  are  in  advance  of  us  in  this  respect. 
In  the  Roman  Ritual,  which  obliges  observance  everywhere, 


202  THE    PASTOR   AT    WORK 

is  the  following  requirement :  "  The  poor,  who  have  little  or 
nothing  by  which  their  burial  expenses  should  be  paid,  must 
be  buried  entirely  without  charge."  And  there  is  no  separate 
or  distinct  place  set  apart  for  them. 

There  seems  an  undue  importance  attached  by  many  to  the 
place  of  interment.  Is  not  this  feeling,  in  part,  an  unconscious 
outgrowth  of  the  materialism  of  the  present  day "?  Let  us  not 
confound  soul  and  body.  Let  us  not  cling  to  the  spot  where 
the  latter  lies  buried,  as  if  oui-  dear  one  were  in  the  grave. 
We  would  think  of  it  merely  as  a  cast-off  garment,  to  be  cher- 
ished only  for  association's  sake,  as  a  mother  tenderly  cher- 
ishes a  little  shoe,  or  some  precious  memento  of  a  lost  darling. 
But  we  cannot  preserve  the  cast-off  garment  of  the  soul.  The 
attempt  is  a  ghastly  mockery,  as  testify  the  grim  mummies 
embalmed  at  so  great  cost.  Instead  of  such  attempts,  let  us 
have  decay,  which,  throughout  the  entire  realm  of  nature, 
foUows  death. 

Indeed,  if  there  can  be  no  radical  improvement  in  our  pres- 
ent style  of  treating  the  dead,  almost  any  change  would  be  a 
blessing.  Rather,  far  rather,  than  one  of  our  modern  "  hand- 
some funerals,"  I  would  choose  cremation.  Truly,  it  matters 
little  what  becomes  of  the  empty  casket  —  whether  it  be  ^'  dust 
to  dust "  or  ^'  ashes  to  ashes." 

In  the  burial  of  our  dead,  let  the  healthy,  natural  instincts 
be  followed.  Above  all,  let  those  who  attend  funerals  from 
a  mere  morbid  curiosity,  and  who  feel  highly  aggrieved  if  they 
are  not  allowed  to  "  look  upon  the  corpse," —  let  all  such  stay 
away ! 

Thrice  welcome  will  be  the  day  when  we  dispense  with  this 
splendid  show  of  superb  caskets  and  heaps  on  heaps  of  costly 
flowers  in  artificial  forms ;  this  dismal  draping  of  surviving 
friends;  this  long  array  of  gloomy  and  sometimes  in  part 
empty  carriages ;  this  exposure  of  health ;  this  public  announc- 
ing and  emphasizing  one's  loss  by  black-bordered  cards  and 
letters  !  Abandoning  the  mere  outward  symbols  of  grief,  let 
us  trust  to  our  better  instincts ;  let  us  have  only  such  flowers 
as  are  the  simple  offering  of  tender  affection ;  let  us  in  all  this 
matter  follow  the  leadings  of  a  refined  Christian  taste. 


FUNERALS  203 

What  a  blessing  to  the  poor  and  those  of  limited  means 
would  be  such  an  example  on  the  part  of  chnrch-members 
and  of  leaders  in  society !  What  a  welcome  change  to  those 
of  every  grade  would  be  the  dispensing  with  unnecessary  for- 
malities and  mere  ceremonies,  and  the  introduction  of  a  beau- 
tiful simplicity  in  all  the  appointments  of  our  funerals  !  The 
saving  of  time  and  expense  and  anxiety  that  would  result  from 
such  a  gracious  change  would  almost  exceed  belief.  And  all 
this  could  be  done  without  sacrificing  anything  that  is  really 
fitting,  and  with  an  unspeakable  gain  to  the  whole  community. 


IV 
ORGANIZING    THE    CHURCH    FOR  WORK 

IF  the  church  is  to  be  fully  efficient,  it  must  be  organized. 
Individual  ordination  for  service  is  an  essential  condition 
of  success.  Not  less  essential  is  individual  coordination  for 
service.  By  coordination  in  the  church  is  intended  the  com- 
bination of  individuals  for  the  most  varied  service  of  which 
we  have  knowledge. 

Politics  are  organized 5  labor  is  organized;  business  is 
organized;  religion  must  be  organized.  This  is  one  of  the 
lessons  taught  us  by  the  children  of  this  world;  one,  also, 
which  we  are  surprisingly  slow  to  learn.  But  the  thing  must 
be  done.  In  dealing  with  this  subject  this  is  one  of  the 
postulates :  the  church  must  be  organized. 

Definitely,  what  does  this  mean  ?  We  say  the  thing  must 
be  done.  What  is  the  thing  to  be  done?  The  answer  is  not 
difficult.  We  should  carry  coordination  of  effort  into  every 
region  of  the  church  life.  The  Sunday-school  should  be 
organized ;  the  worship,  the  music,  the  social  life,  the  charities, 
the  reformatory  enterprises,  the  devotional  meetings,  the 
missionary  activities,  intercessory  prayer,  personal  work, 
should  aU  be  carefuUy  organized.  Men  and  women,  youth 
and  children,  should  be  trained  to  develop  the  immensely 
increased  power  which  is  found  in  singing,  worshiping, 
praying,  giving,  evangelizing  together. 

The  pastor  must  believe  in  organization  :  most  pastors  do. 
The  training  of  pastors  (on  this  line,  if  not  so  consj)icuously 
in  other  directions)  is  far  wiser  than  in  former  times.  But, 
here  and  there  stiU,  a  pastor  may  be  found  who  does  not 
discern  his  time.  He  believes  in  preaching,  in  praying,  in 
sociability,  in  personal  work,  but  he  is  not  clear  about  organi- 
zation. He  should  be.  The  church  has  a  duty  toward  such 
a  pastor.  If  the  church  is  to  be  organized,  it  must  have  a 
leader.     The  pastor  is  the  ordained  leader.     The  church  may 

204 


ORGANIZING    THE    CHURCH    FOR    WORK         205 

need  to  remind  him  that  for  giving  full  proof  of  his  ministry 
he  requires  not  simply  ordination,  but  coordination. 

If  a  pastor  objects,  "  Some  men  can  organize,  I  have  not 
the  gift,"  let  him  be  reminded  that  he  is  in  the  succession  of 
men  who  were  instructed  and  trained  to  fish  with  a  net,  and 
to  arrange  companies  of  thousands  into  orderly  groups  and 
feed  them.  All  men  have,  in  some  measure,  the  gift  of 
organization.  This  gift  is  involved  in  the  call  to  religious 
leadership.  What  would  be  thought  of  a  man  preferring 
claims  to  business,  or  political,  or  musical,  or  social  direction, 
who  should  confess  that  he  had  no  talent  for  organization  ? 
The  pastor  who,  for  any  reason,  has  this  faculty  undeveloped, 
should  be  stimulated  to  stir  up  the  gift  that  is  in  him. 

A  pastor  cannot  effect  the  organization  of  the  church  alone. 
He  may  think  differently.  The  church  may  think  differently. 
He  may  attempt  it.  In  instances  he  may  have  a  qualified 
success.  He  may  construct  a  machine  upon  his  own  designs, 
and  run  it  with  his  own  motive  power.  In  this  way  much 
may  be  accomplished.  But,  even  when  seen  at  its  best,  it  is 
not  the  best  way.  As  a  rule  it  develops  self-will  and  self- 
sufficiency  in  the  pastor,  and  in  the  people  criticism  and  irre- 
sponsibleness.  The  pastor  is  but  the  leader.  It  is  the  church 
which,  under  its  leader,  by  his  intelligent  aid,  is  to  organize 
itself. 

In  successful  organization  the  people  must  cooperate  with 
the  pastor.  Cooperation  on  the  part  of  the  people  involves, 
among  others,  these  important  particulars : 

First.  Response.  When  the  leader  proposes  a  new  plan,  the 
people  should  harbor  it.  Their  first  and  studied  attitude 
should  be  of  friendliness.  The  presumption  should  be  that 
it  must  be  a  good  and  wise  plan,  the  supposition  being  that 
the  leader  has  accustomed  the  people  to  be  able  to  put  con- 
fidence in  his  judgment ;  that  no  suggestion  will  come  from 
him  until  it  has  been  carefully  canvassed,  and  matured  by 
consultation  with  the  wise  men  and  women  of  the  church. 

Toward  a  plan  thus  originated,  the  attitude  of  the  church 
should  be  responsive :  '^  We  will  try  it."  Many  excellent  plans 
of  work  fail  to  reach  the  stage  of  experiment,  because  met  at 
the  outset  by  criticism,  instead  of  a  loyal  responsiveness. 


206  THE    PASTOR    AT    WORK 

When  God  has  given  the  church  a  leader,  let  the  church  treat 
him  as  a  leader.  Closely  to  be  associated  with  responsiveness, 
but  an  idea  distinct  from  it,  is : 

Second.  Obedience.  This  brings  to  view  the  individual.  The 
attitude  of  the  indi\'idual,  corresponding  to  the  responsiveness 
which  leads  the  church  to  say,  "  Let  the  new  plan  be  tried,"  is 
obedience,  leading  him  to  say,  "  Here  am  I ;  send  me." 

The  church,  through  its  pastor,  has  a  right  to  lay  hands 
of  ordination  upon  workers.  The  ideal  system  of  securing 
workers  is  by  voluntary  enlistment.  But,  in  practice,  this 
method  is  a  failure — for  one  reason,  because  so  many  of  us  do 
not  know  what  we  can  do  best,  but  for  another  reason  that  so 
many  of  us  are  reluctant  to  enlist  at  all.  The  pastor,  as  a  rule, 
can  more  easily  select  the  workers  for  a  given  service  than 
these  can  select  their  work.  When,  in  the  name  of  the  church, 
with  the  approval  of  the  church,  he  lays  hands  upon  men  and 
women,  loyalty  will  lead  them  to  obey  the  call.  If  organization 
is  to  be  successful,  it  must  find  in  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
church  a  spirit  of  disciplined  obedience.  How  many  declina- 
tions, and  resignations,  and  excuses,  and  criticisms  would  be 
saved  if  we  realized  that  such  responses  to  the  hand  of  the 
leader,  the  church,  the  Saviour,  laid  upon  us,  are  disobedience, 
and  essential  disloyalty.  One  more  point  of  cooperation  should 
be  mentioned.     It  is : 

Third.  The  spirit  of  organization.  This  spirit  will  cooperate 
in  the  application  of  tried  plans,  or  in  the  testing  of  those 
untried.  But,  more  than  this, —  the  thought  now  especially  in 
\dew, —  it  will  be  suggestive  of  new  plans.  A  Christian  charac- 
terized by  it  will  have  that  invaluable  quality,  inventiveness 
in  methods.  In  some  manufacturing  establishments  the  work- 
men are  encouraged  to  study  the  machinery  with  the  aim  of 
its  improvement.  This,  it  has  been  found,  makes  the  mind 
suggestive.  Valuable  inventions  have  thus  originated.  The 
members  should  study  the  church,  viewing  it  as  a  mechanism, 
admirable  indeed,  but  capable  of  indefinite  improvement. 
The  spirit  of  organization  should  be  fostered.  It  should  be  a 
conviction  diffused  through  the  church,  that  plans  may  be 
suggested,  not  alone  by  the  pastor,  or  by  leading  men  and 
women  J    from  the  humbler   members,   and   from  children, 


ORGANIZING    THE    CHURCH    FOR    WORK  207 

some  of  the  most  fruitful  suggestions  may  spring.  In  a  cele- 
brated manufactory,  one  of  the  most  ingenious,  and  at  the 
same  time  simple  and  valuable,  machines  was  the  invention  of 
a  little  boy,  who,  in  attending  to  his  humble  task,  made  the 
bright  and  profitable  discovery. 

There  are  certain  regulative  ideas,  the  due  regard  to  which 
will  promote  organization.  Through  disregard  of  these, 
organization  will  be  hindered. 

One  of  these  ideas  is  the  place  of  delay.  New  plans  need 
time,  that  they  may  become  distinctly  apprehended  by  the 
people.  Distinct  apprehension  is  essential,  if  they  are  to  be 
intelligently  adopted.  Any  new  plan  should  first  be  suggested. 
Time  should  be  given  to  canvass  it  fully.  The  slowest  and 
most  critical  minds  should  be  considered.  It  may  be  neces- 
sary, oftentimes  it  is  so,  to  act  upon  the  decision  of  a  major- 
ity. But  in  a  society  of  the  peculiar  and  sensitive  constitution 
of  the  church,  it  is  extremely  desirable  to  have  unanimity  in 
all  important  decisions.  It  is  worth  long  delay  to  secure  it. 
As  a  rule,  new  suggestions  should  contemplate  months — in 
instances,  a  year — of  examination,  mutual  conference,  prayer, 
and  gradually  diffused  appreciation.  Very  often  plans  have 
been  inaugurated  too  soon.  The  result  may  be  the  complete 
failure  of  valuable  methods.  If  there  were  space,  examples 
could  readily  be  given.     . 

A  second  regulative  idea  is  the  ivisdoyn  of  variation.  Our 
plans  require  frequent  variations.  The  plans  in  use  may  be 
good.  They  may  work  well.  They  may  be  perfect.  After  a 
time,  nevertheless,  it  will  be  wise  to  vary  even  a  perfect  plan 
of  conducting  social  gatherings  and  prayer-meetings,  of  visi- 
tation, of  raising  money,  of  carrying  on  missionary  work. 
Change  gives  zest.  It  stimulates  enthusiasm.  With  a  spirit  of 
organization,  watchful  and  alert,  variation  will  be  natural  and 
timely.  The  regulation  necessary  in  that  case  ^vill  be  to 
restrain  excessive  variation. 

The  mention  anew  of  the  spirit  of  organization  suggests 
one  more  regulative  idea,  and  the  most  important — the  need 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  suggestions  we  want  are  his  inspira- 
tions. The  motive  power  we  want  is  his  impulsion.  A 
spiritual  church  will  organize  itself,  because  the  work  of  the 


208  THE    PASTOR   AT    WORK 

Spirit  is  organic.  He  coordinates  the  divided  powers  in  the 
individual  goal.  He  organizes  the  members  of  the  church 
into  unions  of  endless  variety,  but  with  the  one  all-inclusive 
aim,  to  extend  the  kingdom  of  God. 

Let  the  pastor  and  the  church  which  have  become  awak- 
ened to  the  importance  of  organization  perceive  this :  that 
effective  organization  is  a  vital  process,  and  that  "  the  Spirit 
giveth  life.''  It  is  pertinent  here  to  remark  that  no  time  is  so 
favorable  for  the  introduction  of  new  plans,  which  are  good, 
but  which  require  sacrifice  for  their  successful  prosecution,  as 
a  time  of  revival.  Then  the  church  is  flexible  and  can  be 
molded  into  almost  any  desirable  form. 

It  remains  to  raise  the  practical  question,  which  some  may 
now  be  asking,  How  shall  we  begin  to  organize  our  church  ? 
Some  churches  ask  this,  wishing  to  begin  anew,  and  some,  it 
is  possible,  which  have  never  made  a  beginning.  Our  answer 
is :  Begin  anywhere. 

Begin  with  the  children.  Organize  a  children's  class. 
Teach  them  5  train  them ;  set  them  at  work ;  invite  their 
cooperation ;  teach  them  how  to  work  j  stir  their  inventive- 
ness 5  lay  responsibility  upon  them.  They  will  respond.  Chil- 
dren will  obey.  Their  minds  you  will  find  delightfully  sug- 
gestive. The  esprit  de  corps  of  children  is  one  of  the  great 
latent  powers  of  the  church.  Begin  with  the  children.  A 
whole  church  may  be  stirred  by  a  well-organized  pastor's 
class,  sustained  by  the  sympathy  and  aid  of  wise  fathers  and 
mothers,  and  deacons,  and  church  committees. 

Begin  with  the  young  men.  The  church  may  be  large  and 
have  many  young  men,  or  it  may  have  few.  In  either  case,  no 
better  place  for  a  beginning  can  be  named.  The  young  men 
themselves  may  make  the  beginning;  two  of  them!  even  one 
of  them!  It  makes  little  difference  whether  the  suggestion 
comes  from  the  pastor  or  from  their  own  number.  Let  them 
make  a  praying  circle,  and  invite  others  to  join  it,  and  organ- 
ize a  simple  society,  aimed  to  answer  one  practical  question : 
^^  What  can  we  young  men  do  for  the  young  men  of  this 
church,  and  congregation,  and  of  this  town  ? "  Wonderful 
things  have  come  from  as  simple  a  beginning  as  the  meeting 
of  two  young  men,  with  the  conception  that  there  is  every- 


ORGANIZING    THE    CHURCH    FOR   WORK         209 

where  a  distinctive  and  great  work  for  young  men  to  do. 
They  met  alone.  They  invited  their  pastor  to  join  them. 
They  fixed  a  time  and  a  place  for  a  young  men's  meeting. 
They  organized  themselves  into  a  little  society  with  a  simple 
constitution,  and  with  the  one  well-defined  and  prayerful 
purpose  to  reach  all  the  young  men  in  the  church  and  con- 
gregation, and  to  use  their  organization  as  it  was  devel- 
oped to  reach  young  men  in  the  city.  Out  of  this  organi- 
zation grew  a  similar  organization  of  young  ladies,  and  a 
well-directed  effort  to  increase  the  Sunday-evening  congrega- 
tion, and  a  stimulus,  powerfully  felt,  throughout  the  entire 
body  of  the  church. 

What  was  possible  to  these  young  men  is  possible  anywhere. 
Begin  with  the  young  men.  Or  begin  with  the  young  women. 
Begin  with  a  band  of  visitors  to  canvass  the  parish.  Begin 
with  a  ladies^  prayer-meeting.  Begin  with  a  choral  society. 
Begin  anywhere,  but  begin.  And  having  begun,  never  stop 
until  a  complete,  vital,  disciplined,  fruitful  organization  is 
realized.  This  is  possible  in  every  church.  Through  it 
(and  through  it  alone)  the  smallest  church  can  cover  the 
largest  town ;  the  city  can  be  evangelized  j  the  world  can  be 
taken  for  Christ. 


14 


V 

THE  CHURCH  PORCH 

THE  commission  of  our  Lord  to  his  apostles  (Matt,  xxviii, 
19),  "Go  ye  therefore  and  make  disciples  of  all  the 
nations,  baptizing  them  [the  nations]  into  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  teaching  them 
to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  commanded  you,"  with 
the  promise  of  his  continued  presence,  "And  lo,  I  am  with 
you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world,"  has  always  been 
quoted,  and  properly,  for  foreign  missionary  purposes.  But 
such  quotation  does  not,  by  any  means,  exhaust  its  content. 
The  words  ^'  disciple,''  and  "  teach,"  suggest  much.  The  appli- 
cation of  these  words,  together  with  the  word  "  baptize,'^  to 
nations  is  peculiar.  The  word  "  nation  "  must  include  every- 
body within  the  confines  of  the  term.  In  all  nations  there 
are  some  to  whom  the  words  "disciple"  and  "teach"  must 
have  special  application.  It  is  very  dif&cult  to  "  disciple"  an 
adult;  much  more  difficult  to  "teach"  him.  Only  those 
adults  who  have  retained  the  spirit  of  disciples  are  easy 
to  teach.  It  would  almost  seem  that  in  the  very  terms  used 
there  is  something  in  the  nature  of  a  suggestion  as  to  the 
kind  of  work  which,  in  the  Christian  church,  will  be  of  the 
first  importance.  Children  are  "  disciples,"  in  spite  of  them- 
selves. They  are  so  absorbent  in  their  nature  that  whatever 
is  presented  to  them  they  receive.  Moreover,  it  is  recognized 
universally  that  impressions  made  in  childhood  remain.  The 
question  whether  children  are  capable  of  receiving  religious 
teaching  seems  to  be  removed  out  of  the  region  of  debate 
by  such  instances  as  that  of  Samuel  and  Timothy,  and  by 
such  words  as  those  in  the  Old  Testament,  "  Thou  shalt  teach 
them  diligently  unto  thy  children,  and  shalt  talk  of  them 
when  thou  sittest  in  thy  house,  and  when  thou  walkest  by  the 
way,  and  when  thou  liest  down,  and  when  thou  risest  up," 
and  by  the  still  sweeter  words  of  our  Lord,  "  Suffer  the  little 
children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not,  for  of  such  is 

210 


THE    CHURCH   PORCH  211 

the  kingdom  of  God/' — a  passage  which  seems  to  suggest 
that  teaching  about  himself  is  thoroughly  adapted  to  the 
nature  and  capacity  of  a  child.  How  soon  the  religious 
nature  in  a  child  begins  to  manifest  itself  is  one  of  those  ques- 
tions the  answer  to  which  will  depend  on  the  view  we  take  of 
religion.  For  myself,  regarding  the  religiousness  of  our 
nature  as  intuitive,  I  should  be  inclined  to  say  that  it  begins 
with  the  dawn  of  consciousness.  From  the  very  first,  relig- 
iousness is  there,  to  be  developed  or  repressed  according  to 
the  conditions  in  which  a  child  lives.  If  the  house  be  of  such 
an  atmosphere  and  temperature  that  the  religious  intuitions 
can  develop  naturally,  the  piety  of  a  child  will  be  only  as 
the  deepening,  sweetening,  and  purifying  of  the  character 
which  was  previously  in  some  "  Grandmother  Lois  and 
Mother  Eunice."  Nothing  can  be  a  substitute  for  a  Christian 
home.  However  wise  in  conception  and  excellent  in  quality 
the  ministries  to  children  in  the  church,  if  they  are  antago- 
nized by  what  is  said  and  done  at  home  they  will  seem  forced 
and  artificial  —  out  of  line  with  the  natural  order  of  things. 
Christianized  homes  are  the  first  necessity. 

Yet  these  cannot  stand  alone.  Everything  in  this  world 
seems  to  demand  something  else  to  give  it  companionship  and 
completeness.  The  Christian  home  requires  the  Christian 
church,  with  its  dignity,  authority,  and  fellowship.  In  a 
Cliristian  church  there  are  almost  certainly  to  be  found  those 
who  can  be  helpers  of  mothers  and  fathers  in  the  religious 
nurture  of  their  children.  Every  Christian  church  ought  to  be 
so  organized  as  that  "they  that  are  strong  [the  adult  members] 
should  bear  the  infirmities  of  the  weak"  (the  children).  I  say, 
"  organized  " ;  every  church  should  have  its  "  Church  Porch ''  — 
the  vestibule  through  which,  for  the  young,  entrance  is  made 
into  the  church.  Religion  does  not  begin  there,  as  I  have  said, 
being  of  the  opinion  of  one  of  the  wisest  of  modern  men,  who 
writes :  "  It  can  also  be  shown  by  sufficient  evidence  that  more 
is  done  to  affect,  or  fix,  the  moral  and  religious  character  of 
children  before  the  age  of  language  than  after;  that  the  age 
of  impressions  when  parents  are  commonly  waiting,  in  idle 
security,  or  trifling  away  their  time  in  mischievous  indiscre- 
tions, or  giving  up  their  children  to  the  chance  of  such  keep- 


212  THE    PASTOR   AT    WORK 

ing  as  nurses  and  attendants  may  exercise,  is,  in  fact,  their 
golden  opportunity,  when  more  is  likely  to  be  done  for  their 
advantage  or  damage  than  in  all  the  instruction  and  disci- 
pline of  their  minority  afterward.'^  But  the  religiousness  of 
feeling  nourished  in  the  home  should  be  brought  into  a  more 
distinct  recognition  of  itself  in  the  Church  Porch.  There  it 
should  be  so  associated  and  directed  as  to  become  intelligence 
and  will.  There  the  child  should  be  made  to  perceive  that  it 
has  a  life  in  common,  and  belongs  to  a  larger  relationship  than 
the  limited  one  of  home.  There  it  should  learn  that  in  God's 
design  and  plan  it  belongs  to  the  church.  The  expectation 
that  under  the  influence  of  adapted  ^^ means  of  grace''  our 
sons  and  daughters  will  graduate  into  the  full  benefits  and 
responsibilities  of  church  life  should  be  constantly  present  to 
them.  Children  ought  not  to  be  treated  unfairly,  nor  any 
undue  advantage  taken  of  their  sensitiveness  to  the  good 
opinion  of  others.  They  have  feeling  enough  at  all  times. 
The  Church  Porch  should  be  the  place  for  developing  will  and 
intelligence,  and  for  so  guiding  the  young,  as  that  when  they 
are  ready  for  church  membership  they  should  be  ready,  with 
a  completeness  which,  apart  from  some  specific  training,  is 
not  possible  to  them. 

Too  often,  in  the  present  condition  of  things,  the  church  is 
assumed  to  be  the  natural  place  for  those  only  who  are  con- 
scious of  their  own  goodness  (Pharisaic),  or  who  are  in  some 
way  different  from  the  average  Christian  disciple.  The  Church 
Porch  ought  to  train  its  catechumens  to  recognize  that  the 
church  is  the  fellowship  of  all  Christian  disciples,  and  that  a 
disciple  is  in  as  inconsistent  a  position  out  of  the  church  as 
a  Pontius  Pilate  or  a  Herod  or  a  Judas  would  be  in  it. 

To  the  extent  of  his  opportunity  it  is  the  pastor's  duty  to 
train  the  children  of  the  church  with  a  view  to  church-fellow- 
ship. Being  the  pastor  of  the  church,  he  is  necessarily  the 
pastor  of  the  children  of  the  church.  He  may  exercise  his 
pastorate  —  must  so  exercise  it  —  through  others.  He  may 
invite  those  of  the  members  of  the  church  who  seem  to  him 
most  fitted  for  it  to  cooperate  with  him  in  whatsoever  methods 
commend  themselves  as  most  adapted  to  secure  the  end  sought. 
The  prevailing  idea  of  the  Sunday-school  seems  to  be  a  place 


THE    CHURCH    PORCH  213 

for  general  Bible  Instruction.  Ninety  per  cent,  of  Sunday- 
school  teachers  recognize  that  they  have  done  all  that  is 
required  of  them  when  they  have  "  explained  the  lesson."  The 
more  earnest  among  them  make  such  application  of  the  truths 
taught  as  seems  to  them  practicable.  But  the  tendency  to 
substitute  the  Sunday-school  for  the  church  and  for  home 
instruction  cannot  be  regarded  by  thoughtful  Christians  with 
unconcern.  We  need,  in  addition  to  the  Sunday-school,  a 
Church  Porch,  whose  design  is  not  simply  to  convey  instruc- 
tion, but  to  bring  the  children  into  an  organism  which  has  no 
more  completeness  in  itself  than  has  the  porch  of  an  ecclesi- 
astical building.  It  is  a  passage-way  into  a  larger  and  com- 
pleter relationship.  Happily  there  are  springing  up  all  over 
the  country  ''  societies  "  controlled  by  this  idea.  Their  title, 
"  Societies  of  Christian  Endeavor,"  does  not  seem  to  me  to  be 
very  happily  chosen.  It  is  too  indefinite.  "We  need  that -Scrip- 
tural terms,  for  which  we  can  substitute  no  other  that  are 
adequate,  should  be  kept  before  the  minds  of  young  and  old. 

I  assume  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  pastor  of  a  church  to  hold 
himself  responsible  to  the  extent  of  seeing  that  adequate 
means  are  provided  for  the  training  church-ward  of  the  chil- 
dren of  the  church. 

I  assume  also  that  all  adult  church-members  will  recognize 
that  this  training  wiU  be  effective  or  ineffective  in  the  degree 
of  their  own  willingness  to  cooperate  with  the  pastor. 

A  Church  Porch  being  established,  it  will  necessarily  be  such 
an  organization  as  wiU  aim  to  secure  the  end  sought.  In  the 
one  direction  it  will  be  connected  with  the  family;  in  the 
other,  with  the  church — a  link  between  the  two.  It  wiU  have 
as  its  honorary  officers  the  pastor  and  deacons  of  the  church  ; 
as  its  executive,  young  men  and  women  of  such  an  age  as  to 
have  sufficient  ripeness  of  judgment  to  know  how  to  act  Tv^ith 
wisdom  and  discretion.  The  adult  Christian  fellowship  of  the 
church  will  be  at  the  back  of  it,  encouraging  the  attendance 
of  their  children  upon  its  meetings,  regularly  and  conscien- 
tiously, for  to  develop  character  is  one  of  the  great  aims. 
The  Church  Porch  will  provide  some  simple  words,  which  are 
of  the  nature  of  a  confession  of  discipleship  to  the  great  Head 
of  the  church.    It  will  so  conduct  its  meetings  as  that  the 


214  THE    PASTOR   AT    WORK 

youngest  may  take  some  small  part.  It  will  so  organize  itself 
as  that  the  members  shall  have  "  mutual  care  one  of  another." 
It  will  provide  meetings  for  social  intercourse  as  well  as  for 
devotional^  thus  recognizing  the  good  of  all  innocent  recrea- 
tion. It  will  provide  for  the  daily  home  reading  by  its 
members  of  wisely  selected  Scriptures.  It  will  have  some 
such  graduation  in  membership  as  shall  allow  the  more 
developed  to  assume  responsibility,  and  put  themselves  one 
step  nearer  to  the  full  membership  of  the  Christian  church. 
Of  course,  organization  is  not  everything,  nor  the  principal 
thing.  We  cannot  do  much  without  it,  but  the  most  ideally 
perfect  organization  in  the  world  must  depend  for  its  reputa- 
tion upon  those  who  use  it.  It  wiU  be  urged  as  an  objection 
by  some  who  have  had  little  or  no  experience  in  these  matters, 
that  it  is  requiring  too  much  to  ask  a  child  to  sign  such  a 
simple  pledge  as  this : 

"  Trusting  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  for  strength,  I  purpose 
to  try  to  do  whatever  he  would  like  to  have  me  do.  I  will 
pray  to  him,  and  read  the  Bible  every  day,  and  henceforth  I 
wiU  try  to  be  his  disciple.^^ 

Analyze  it,  and  what  do  we  find?  Nothing  at  all  inconsis- 
tent with  that  which  is  possible  to  the  youngest  disciple.  A 
child  can  "  trust '' ;  a  child  can  "  try  '^  j  a  child  can  ^'  pray  " ; 
a  child  can  "  read  the  Bible '' ;  a  child  can  be  a  "  disciple"  —  a 
learner.  It  is  that  from  its  constitution.  Children  like  to  be 
members  of  societies,  and  they  are  generally  more  faithful  to 
their  duties  than  are  adults.  They  grow  into  right  thoughts 
and  right  feelings,  just  as  their  seniors  do,  by  right  deeds. 
An  adult  church,  with  its  loosely  organized  life,  which  has  no 
regard  to  others  than  doctrinaire  adults,  seems  to  me,  on  its 
very  face,  to  bear  the  record  of  its  own  heterodoxy.  In  every 
true  church  there  is  a  natural  parenthood.  There  is  some- 
thing inhuman  in  the  elder  not  caring  for  the  younger.  True 
faith  has  an  inherent  tendency  to  propagate  itself.  No  man 
can  very  firmly  believe  in  that  which  does  not  develop  activity 
in  him.  The  first  duty  of  a  church  is  to  provide  for  its  own, 
"those  of  its  own  household."  The  idolatrous  worship  of 
freedom — as  if  freedom  were  anything  but  room  for  all 
good  action — has  tended  to  such  relaxation  of  family  disci- 


THE    CHURCH   PORCH  215 

pline  that  the  holiness  of  obedience  seems  no  longer  recog- 
nized ;  reverence  is  too  much  regarded  as  an  ancient  form  of 
aesthetic  for  which  we  have  now  no  special  use.  The  welfare 
of  our  land  would  seem  to  depend  more  on  our  ability  to  bring 
the  young  into  discipleship  to  Christ,  and  adults  into  a  recog- 
nition that  the  church  is  the  heart  of  the  nation,  than  on 
almost  aught  else.  If  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  in 
every  Christian  home  in  the  land,  that  all-sufficient  book  on 
this  theme,  Bushnell's  "Christian  Nurture/^  could  be  read 
and  re-read,  one  might  hope  that  a  revival  of  interest  in  the 
godly  training  of  children  might,  under  God's  Spirit,  be 
brought  about,  and  a  new  light  flash  out  from  the  old  text, 
"  Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go,  and  when  he  is 
old  he  will  not  depart  from  it." 


yi 

THE  PASTOR  AND  THE  COMMUNITY 

IT  was  a  scornful  proverb  of  the  middle  ages  that  the  human 
race  was  composed  of  men,  women,  and  priests  5  as  if  a 
Christian  minister  were  something  other  and  less  than  a  man. 
The  successful  pastor  must,  first  of  all,  be  a  man.  He  has  his 
native  human  relation,  his  responsibility  to  the  community 
of  which  he  is  a  member.  He  has  no  right  to  sink  the  man 
in  the  ecclesiastic.  There  are  already  too  many  who  lose 
themselves  in  their  business,  over  whose  graves  might  be 
written  words  akin  to  the  old  French  epitaph :  ^'  He  was  born 
a  man,  and  died  a  grocer."  But  this  is  not  the  path  by  which 
the  minister  is  to  show  himself  an  ensample  of  good  works. 
He  has  no  right  to  live  in  evasion  of  the  primary  fact  that 
he  is  a  citizen,  a  member  of  society,  in  common  with  all  other 
men. 

The  usual  argument  against  public  spirit  in  a  minister  is 
that  religion  is  so  important  and  the  preaching  of  it  so  exhaust- 
ive as  to  absolve  the  preacher  from  everything  else.  This 
was  the  excuse  which  used  to  be  given  why  ministers  should 
not  engage  in  antislavery  work,  that  they  had  more  than 
they  could  really  do  if  they  confined  themselves  to  the  preach- 
ing of  religion,  and  therefore  ought  not  to  go  out  into  the 
"  politics  "  of  considering  the  moral  character  of  the  enslave- 
ment of  one  man  by  another.  But  the  eye  that  could  be  so 
busy  with  distinctions  of  ritual  and  dogma  as  to  fail  to  dis- 
cover sin  in  slavery  was  at  once  too  sharp-sighted  and  too 
blind.  It  reminds  one  of  the  eye-sight  attributed  to  a  noted 
politician,  of  whom  it  was  said  that  he  could  see  a  fly  on  a 
barn-door  two  miles  off  and  not  see  the  door. 

Even  within  the  narrowest  view,  there  is  a  natui-al  reciproc- 
ity of  interest  to  the  advantage  of  which  the  pastor  is  entitled. 
He  cannot  better  build  his  own  specific  work  into  the  hearts 
of  the  public  than  by  working  for  the  public  good.  The  king- 
dom of  God  is  wider  than  any  form  of  ecclesiasticism.    Peo- 

216 


THE    PASTOR   AND    THE    COMMUNITY  217 

pie  can  be  brought  to  see  that  religion  is  a  power  pervading 
every  department  of  moral  action.  The  distinction  of  secu- 
lar from  sacred,  as  it  is  often  understood,  is  mischievous.  To 
take  part  in  a  prayer-meeting  may  be  no  more  of  a  sacred  act 
than  to  take  part  in  a  caucus ;  and  it  may  be  much  less  so  if 
the  prayer-meeting  is  attended  in  the  spirit  often  characteriz- 
ing the  caucus.  Whatsoever  things  are  true,  honorable,  just, 
pure,  lovely,  of  good  report,  are  strictly  objects  of  religious 
thought  and  effort  j  and  an  enlarged  sympathy  with  all 
methods  of  building  them  into  the  life  of  a  community  lays 
the  most  solid  foundation  for  building  up  a  church.  Doing 
good  to  all  men  brings  in  the  special  doing  of  good  by  all 
hands  for  the  household  of  faith.  But  the  refusal  of  good 
efforts  for  the  public  at  large  begets  a  general  apathy  to  the 
specific  form  of  goodness  which  is  regarded  as  the  special  aim 
of  the  church  pastor. 

When  some  very  zealous  and  active  pastors  are  puzzled  at 
the  general  coldness  with  which  their  efforts  at  church  propa- 
gandism  are  met  and  defeated,  they  might  wisely  recall  the 
coldness  with  which  they  have  turned  away  from  pleas  for 
public  services  in  behalf  of  the  community  at  large,  excusing 
themselves  because  their  own  church  work  occupied  all  their 
time  and  strength.  A  generous  public  spirit  always  brings 
a  large  public  response.  What  is  thus  given  will  be  given 
back,  full  measure,  pressed  down  and  heaped  together. 

A  pastor  takes  energetic  hold  of  a  movement  among  the 
overworked  salesmen  of  his  town  for  shorter  hours  of  toil, 
and,  unexpectedly  to  himself,  finds  scores  of  young  men  and 
women  in  his  evening  services,  listening  to  his  words  with 
new  openness  of  attention  and  sympathy.  A  pastor  stirs  up 
the  needs  of  a  better  school  system,  and  makes  himself  a  place 
in  the  hearts  of  hundreds  of  parents  which  no  preaching 
would  have  given  him.  A  pastor  heads  a  movement  for  a 
public  reading-room  or  library,  a  society  for  the  wise  and 
systematic  relief  of  the  poor,  a  town  hospital,  a  reform  in 
civic  politics,  or  a  plan  of  evening  schools  for  working- 
boys  —  anything  which  shows  that  he  is  at  work  with  all  the 
people  and  for  all  the  people  ,•  and  he  finds,  years  afterward, 
when  an  insidious  attempt  is  made  to  dislodge  him  from  his 


218  THE    PASTOR    AT    WORK 

work,  a  large  and  unlooked-for  reenforcement  of  public  indig- 
nation in  his  behaK,  which  nullifies  the  attack  and  leaves  him 
more  firmly  established  than  ever. 

"  I  hear  that  there  is  some  discontent  with  Mr.  Blank  on  the 
part  of  a  few  in  his  society,  and  that  he  may  have  to  leave 
your  town,"  said  one  to  a  prominent  man  in  one  of  our 
interior  cities. 

" Discontent! "  was  the  reply.  ^^ I  am  not  a  member  of  Mr. 
Blank's  congregation,  but  I  know  it  through  and  through,  and 
I  know  the  city.  I  tell  you  it  will  come  to  nothing.  Mr. 
Blank  has  done  too  much  in  our  place  for  everybody  to  be 
unseated  by  anybody.'^ 

The  talk  occurred  years  ago,  and  that  pastor  is  to-day  doing 
a  larger  work  in  that  city  than  ever. 

Actions  of  public  spirit  pay.  But  if  they  are  entered  upon 
because  they  pay,  they  are  not  the  actions  of  public  spirit  at 
all,  and  the  public  will  be  swift  to  see  this.  They  must  have 
their  root  in  a  genuine  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  com- 
munity. This  interest  is  really  in  the  hearts  of  the  vast 
majority  of  Christian  ministers.  But  many  of  them  do  not 
see  how  to  make  it  effective.  They  are  afraid  of  making  a 
mistake.  Perhaps  they  have  made  mistakes,  as  who  has  not ! 
The  grooves  of  regular  church  work  are  uniform  and  easy, 
and  in  the  line  of  all  their  training  and  experience.  Any- 
thing beyond  is  an  experiment.  So  they  go  on  through  years, 
in  the  face  of  public  and  social  needs  which  they  wish  some- 
body would  meet,  but  which  they  do  not  like  to  venture  upon 
taking  up.  They  remain  discontented  with  themselves  j  they 
fail  of  becoming  factors  of  power  in  the  communit}^;  they 
fail  to  make  full  proof  of  their  ministry  in  the  church  by  the 
revulsion  of  the  indifferentism  toward  it  which  they  them- 
selves practice  beyond  its  borders,  and  to  make  any  proof  of 
that  ministry  in  doing  all  good  to  all  men. 

On  the  other  hand,  very  many  pastors  have  a  deep  sense  of 
the  public  calls  upon  them  for  leadership  in  every  good  work, 
and  of  the  unused  powers  of  their  position.  More  of  them  than 
at  any  preceding  day  of  Christian  history  are  meeting  these 
calls  manfully  and  Christianly.  There  never  was  a  time  when 
the  pastor  was  so  much  of  a  public  man,  and  was  so  readily 


THE    PASTOR   AND    THE    COMMUNITY  219 

followed  in  his  labors  in  behalf  of  the  community  at  large,  as 
to-day.  The  public  objects  in  which  pastors  are  the  leaders 
and  the  methods  pursued  are  innumerable. 

Of  course,  no  one  method  can  be  outlined  as  applicable  to 
widely  different  fields  and  lines  of  service.  The  following 
general  suggestions  have  been  gathered  from  different  quarters 
and  offer  hints  from  the  experience  of  many  pastors  in  carrying 
on  this  department  of  work. 

First  Begin  with  the  particular  need  which  appeals  most 
immediately  to  your  thought.  The  providential  demand  for 
your  service  usually  arises  directly  in  your  path.  It  is  a  mis- 
take to  go  around  it  and  beyond  it  for  some  other  vague  and 
large  field  of  activity. 

Second.  Study  the  particular  case  thoroughly.  Get  at  the 
more  general  problem  which  commonly  underlies  it.  Know 
all  that  can  be  known  about  it  before  making  any  exposition 
of  it  to  others.  It  is  the  greatest  possible  service  that  you 
should  be  able  to  answer  aU  natural  questions  upon  it,  and 
give  all  the  related  facts  in  the  earliest  conferences  held. 
Nothing  awakens  more  respect  than  the  knowledge  that  a 
careful  and  detailed  investigation  has  been  made  of  the  mat- 
ter proposed.  Do  not  let  those  you  call  into  conference  go 
away  with  the  feeling  that  you  know  next  to  nothing  of  what 
you  have  been  talking  about.  Many  a  good  work  has  been 
ruined  in  its  very  inception  by  the  crass  ignorance  of  the  first 
proposer  of  it. 

Third.  To  this  end,  you  should  familiarize  yourself  with  the 
most  accessible  literature  of  the  department  to  which  the  work 
belongs.  A  little  careful  reading  may  save  crude  and  useless 
experiments.  There  is  hardly  any  department  of  service  for 
the  community  without  a  large  published  experience  of  en- 
deavors wise  and  unwise.  It  is  a  very  common  thing  to  see 
schemes  tried  in  social  economics,  relief  of  the  poor,  etc., 
which  have  long  since  been  proved  to  be  helpless  and  hopeless. 

Fourth.  Find  out  the  few  persons  of  largest  influence  who 
will  be  most  likely  to  be  in  sympathy  with  the  work,  consult 
them,  and  enlist  their  counsel  and  cooperation  fii'st.  It  is 
not  wise,  usually,  to  propose  your  plan  to  them  at  once ;  but 
describe  the  case  in  its  needs,  get  suggestions  so  far  as 


220  THE    PASTOR   AT    WORK 

they  commend  themselves  to  your  thought,  incorporate  them 
ia  your  own  plan,  awaken  attention  to  both  difficulties  and 
promise ;  there  will  come  a  time  when  you  can  give  your  own 
ideas  at  the  best  possible  advantage. 

Fifth.  Avoid  settling  upon  a  complete  plan,  and  fastening 
yourself  mentally  to  it,  in  advance  of  consultations.  Carefully 
avoid  any  semblance  of  a  dictatorial  spirit.  It  is  better  to 
put  into  operation  a  very  imperfect  plan  (as  you  esteem  it), 
for  which  you  can  secure  cooperation,  than  to  resist  it  with  a 
much  more  perfect  plan  which  others  are  unready  for.  Arthur 
Helps  wisely  suggests,  ^^  It  would  not  be  a  bad  mode  of  pre- 
paring to  organize  anything,  to  state  in  writing  what  would 
be  the  perfection  of  the  plan  if  it  could  be  carried  out  5  and 
then,  by  degrees,  taking  into  consideration  all  the  difficulties 
that  occur,  to  fine  down  the  project  and  bring  it  within  the 
exact  limits  of  what  is  practicable." 

Sixth.  Expect  partial  failures,  vacillations,  prejudices,  reac- 
tions of  coldness,  hindrances,  and  obstacles  of  aU  kinds.  No 
good  movement  was  ever  pushed  through  a  community  with- 
out a  great  deal  of  patience.  Do  not  be  misled  by  the  first 
general  declaration,  ^'  Everybody  is  in  favor  of  it."  It  may  be 
true ;  but  it  must  usually  be  foUowed  by  a  great  deal  of  solid 
work. 

A  thoroughly  public-spirited  man,  one  who  had  done  great 
service  for  his  community  in  many  and  various  beneficial 
efforts,  once  remarked  that  a  person  entering  upon  a  work  of 
public  benevolence  must  be  prepared  to  fight  it  through  as  if 
it  w^ere  a  project  for  the  meanest  personal  aggrandizement, 
expecting  all  possible  and  many  impossible  misconstructions 
of  his  motives,  expecting  the  most  unlikely  failures  and  aids, 
and  be  content  at  the  end  with  the  satisfaction  of  having  done 
his  duty.  This  was  an  over-statement ;  for  this  very  man  is 
recognized  and  appreciated  by  his  townspeople  as  a  public 
benefactor.  But  it  is  a  mistake  to  imagine  that  even  the  best 
project  will  go  of  itself,  or,  indeed,  will  go  at  all,  without 
constant  and  strenuous  endeavor. 


YI 
HELPING  THE  PASTOR 


COOPERATION  WITH  THE  PASTOR 

DISINTERESTED  business  man,  versed  in 
organization,  looking  over  the  field  in  which 
the  churches  are  laboring  to  advance  the 
principles  of  religion,  if  asked  what  could 
be  done  to  increase  the  efficiency  of  those 
labors,  would  be  likely  first  to  suggest  the 
need  of  a  more  cordial  and  active  coopera- 
tion with  the  pastor  in  the  work  of  the  church. 

There  are,  perhaps,  in  this  country,  about  fifty  thousand 
church  organizations  with  pastors  all  laboring  in  sympathy 
with  what  are  called  the  evangelical  doctrines.  These,  together, 
form  an  immense  army,  and  if  each  local  organization  were 
united  and  active,  the  aggregate  moral  power  would  be  far 
greater  than  it  now  is.  Probably  the  number  of  churches  at 
any  given  time,  whose  influence  is  nullified  or  impaired  by 
obstacles  interposed  by  their  own  members,  is  very  large. 

Under  all  systems  of  church  government,  the  pastor  is  the 
leader  of  the  organization ;  and  the  first  step  to  promote  its 
strength  is  to  cooperate  with  him. 

There  are  cases,  doubtless,  in  which  the  pastor  is  not  suited 
for  the  place  he  occupies ;  but  lapng  out  of  view  the  cases 
where  there  ought  to  be  a  change,  let  us  consider  that  of  the 
average  parish — very  likely  your  own  parish.  A  good  and 
faithful  man — probably  not  the  man  you  think  you  would 
have  made  had  you  been  his  creator — is  fulfilling  tolerably 

221 


222  HELPING   THE    PASTOR 

well  tlie  duties  wliich  form  the  routine  of  his  of&ce,  and  yet, 
perhaps,  not  making  much  of  a  mark  upon  the  minds  about 
him.  A  few  of  his  parish  have  formed  a  strong  personal 
attachment  for  him,  a  few  don't  like  him,  a  good  many  more 
dislike  something  about  him,  or  something  he  has  said  or  done, 
while  the  great  majority  respect  and  esteem  him  as  their 
pastor,  without,  however,  taking  any  particular  interest  in 
what  he  does  or  counsels  to  be  done.  In  such  a  condition  as 
this  a  voluntary  organization  can  exist,  but  can  neither  grow 
in  itself  nor  gain  an  ascendency  over  those  around  it.  But 
this  is  the  condition  into  which  thousands  of  evangelical 
churches  come  from  time  to  time,  and  long  remain.  The  first 
condition  of  producing  greater  power  from  the  churches  is 
securing  more  life;  and  in  the  average  parish  there  is,  per- 
haps, no  better  way  for  laymen  to  go  about  to  secure  more 
life  in  the  church  than  cordially  and  heartily  to  cooperate  with 
the  pastor. 

Unfortunately,  the  tendency  is  the  other  way ;  and  when 
the  pastor  is  wearied  with  long,  unbroken  work,  or  when  the 
poverty  of  exhausted  mental  resources  begins  to  appear  in  his 
sermons,  or  when,  through  the  indifference  of  his  people,  he 
begins  to  be  interested  in  other  things  than  his  work,  or  from 
the  inadequacy  of  his  support  is  obliged  to  labor  in  other 
ways  to  eke  out  a  subsistence,  then  the  average  majority 
begin,  half  unconsciously,  to  stand  a  little  aloof.  The  '^  best 
men  "  in  his  parish,  as  they  call  one  another, —  the  most  intel- 
lectual and  social,  —  often  lose  their  interest  first,  and  leave 
him  to  himself  soonest.  The  most  sensitive  natures  set  the 
example  of  turning  away  from  him  upon  any  act  which  is 
an  error  in  judgment  or  in  taste ;  and  while,  perhaps,  they 
remain  conscientiously  faithful  in  every  organized  obligation, 
he  loses,  what  is  everything  to  him,  the  stimulus  and  the 
guidance  which  their  sympathy  would  afford.  How  many  a 
church  has  gradually  suspended  its  forces,  and  laid  aside  its 
influence  for  a  period,  in  such  a  process  as  this;  and  how 
many  churches  now  are  doing  nothing  in  consequence  of  being 
in  this  condition. 

In  other  organizations  than  the  church,  where  men's 
material  interests  are  affected  by  results,  they  learn  to  coop- 


COOPERATION  WITH  THE  PASTOR      223 

erate  with  eacli  other  in  some  things  though  they  cannot 
in  others.  The  same  principle  might  well  be  applied  by  the 
parishioner  who  cannot  approve  all  his  minister  does  or  says. 
Each  can  cooperate  with  the  pastor  in  some  point  at  least. 
The  effect  of  such  a  course  would  be  far  greater  than  would 
be  at  first  supposed.  For  instance,  those  who  disapprove  the 
pastor's  spending  so  much  time  in  visiting,  and  think  he 
ought  to  spend  more  time  in  his  study,  can  do  something  to 
promote  the  attractiveness  of  his  study,  and  to  increase  the 
resources  of  his  library.  Ten  dollars  spent  in  early  copies  of 
a  few  fresh  books,  such  as  the  preacher  prizes,  or  fifty  spent 
in  sending  him  to  the  meeting  of  the  American  Board,  or  the 
Evangelical  Alliance,  will  do  more  to  promote  his  pulpit 
efforts  than  a  great  deal  of  acute  criticism  expressed  confiden- 
tially to  other  people.  Those  who  are  not  wholly  in  accord 
with  the  doctrine  he  teaches  surely  approve  his  visiting  the 
sick  and  the  poor.  Dissatisfaction  with  sermons  need  not 
prevent  one  from  inquiring  after  the  suffering  ones  to  whom 
he  is  ministering,  and  seeing  to  it  that  he  has  all  necessary 
supplies,  and  even  a  companion  occasionally,  in  that  work.  It 
might  prove,  too,  that  entering  into  his  sympathies  here  would 
infuse  a  new  degree  of  humanity  and  spirituality  into  his  ser- 
mons. Stranger  things  than  that  have  happened.  Even  when 
the  pastor  has  felt  moved  to  make  an  extraordinary  onslaught 
upon  Darwin  and  science,  the  skeptical  and  acute-minded 
physician  who,  perhaps,  sees  farther  into  that  mill-stone  than 
any  one  else  in  the  parish,  need  not  on  account  of  that 
sermon  condemn  the  pastor  for  acting  as  a  member  of  the 
district  school-board  ;  and  if  he  cannot  conscientiously  (for 
science  has  its  conscience  as  well  as  theology)  subscribe  any 
longer  ^^  for  the  support  of  the  Gospel,"  he  can  give  the  like 
sum  to  forward  the  pastor's  labors  in  the  promotion  of 
education. 

It  may  be  objected  that  indiscriminate  cooperation  in 
every  movement  which  a  pastor,  even  if  the  wisest  of  men, 
might  propose,  would  be  unwise,  and  might  tend  to  scatter 
and  diffuse  the  energies  which  should  be  concentrated ;  and 
this  is  undoubtedly  true.  But  that  is  a  very  different  thing 
from  aiding  the  pastor,  in  whatever  part  of  the  actual  work  in 


224  HELPING    THE    PASTOR 

hand  commends  itself  as  most  useful  and  most  promising. 
Tlie  illustrations  that  have  been  mentioned  are  but  instances 
of  a  general  principle,  universally  applicable,  that  those  who 
are  interested  in  the  success  of  an  organization  can  promote 
it  by  promoting  such  parts  of  its  movement  as  they  most 
approve,  without  holding  themselves  responsible  for  the 
deficiencies  of  other  parts.  The  case  must  be  bad  indeed 
where  every  unsatisfied  or  uninterested  member  of  a  church 
will  not  find  something  in  which  his  aid  is  due  to  his  pastor, 
or  where  a  pastor  so  assisted  on  every  hand  would  find  his 
people  long  dissatisfied  or  uninterested.  The  work  would 
prosper,  and  success  itself  engenders  satisfaction.  Happy 
are  they  who,  like  many  of  us,  can  say  to  their  pastors,  "  Under 
your  direction,  we  are  ready  to  labor  in  any  department." 

The  remarks  above  made  apply  equally  to  the  office  bearers 
of  the  church  and  all  the  departments  of  its  work. 

No  small  part  of  the  friction  which  is  often  observed  in  the 
administration  of  the  affairs  of  a  church  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  what  people  approve  they  rarely  speak  of :  while  things 
go  well,  they  take  all  as  a  matter  of  course  5  hence  an  expres- 
sion of  judgment  is  only  called  out  by  an  occasion  for  fault- 
finding. Commendation  has  no  voice ;  and  however  many  are 
satisfied,  no  one  is  heard  but  those  who  are  dissatisfied.  Those 
who  administer  affairs  need  the  guidance  and  pressure  of  a 
recognition  of  that  which  gives  satisfaction  quite  as  much  as 
the  checks  and  stops  of  criticism.  A  critical  church  may  be 
compared  to  a  horse-car  with  one  horse  and  forty  brakes,  in 
which  it  should  be  made  the  privilege  and  duty  of  every  pas- 
senger to  brake-up  whenever  he  thought  anything  was  likely 
to  go  wrong.  The  minister  tugs  his  load  along,  incessantly 
brought  to  a  stand,  unless  his  is  a  powerful  nature,  by  the 
objections,  tacit  or  expressed,  of  any  timid  or  fastidious  parish- 
ioner who  fears  a  collision  or  fancies  a  danger. 

A  prevalence  of  the  spirit  in  which  each  one  endeavors  to 
assist  whatever  movement  commends  itself  to  his  judgment, 
leaving  all  minor  errors  to  correct  themselves,  will  soon  elevate 
the  pastor  to  his  true  position,  unite  the  hearts  of  the  people 
in  sympathy,  and  bring  a  languid  church  up  to  vigor  and 
usefulness. 


COOPERATION    WITH    THE    PASTOR  225 

Two  obstacles  to  the  application  of  the  principle  we  hiave 
considered  should  not  be  overlooked.  (1)  Men  of  affairs,  who 
are  accustomed  to  control  all  details,  do  not  find  it  easy  to 
serve  an  organization  where  some  things  are  not  to  their 
liking.  It  is  hard,  especially  for  a  successful  man  who  has 
just  the  qualities  that  a  church  needs,  to  take  up  with  a  sub- 
ordinate department  or  position,  and  hold  in  silence  his 
opinion  on  other  matters  that  he  cannot  mend.  It  is  only 
the  cause  of  the  Master  and  the  highest  welfare  of  feUow-men 
that  can  enlist  such  service.  These  deserve  it  and  demand  it. 
(2)  It  is  often  hard  for  a  pastor  gracefully  to  accept  the  well- 
meant  cooperation  of  others.  He  is  surely  not  to  blame  for 
preferring  to  go  his  own  way,  if  the  parish  have,  by  long  inac- 
tivity, compelled  him  to  adapt  himself  and  his  habits  to  this 
method ;  and  if  a  pastor  would  be  and  remain  but  an  indi- 
vidual missionary,  no  change  is  necessary.  But  if  he  would 
build  up  and  administer  an  organization  which  shall  multiply 
his  influence  in  every  direction,  the  methods  of  enlisting  and 
coordinating  the  active  interest  of  others  must  be  studied. 


15 


II 

THE   HELPFULNESS   OF   HEARING 

THERE  is  considerable  difference  among  the  theories  of 
the  various  churches  as  to  the  nature  of  church  govern- 
ment. Some  of  these  theories  assign  to  the  pastor  more 
power  than  others  concede  to  him ;  some  of  them  give  the 
people  a  larger  place  in  the  government  of  the  church  than 
others  do  j  but  the  practical  differences  are  much  less  than  the 
theoretical.  In  all  our  Protestant  churches  there  are  leaders, 
to  whom  is  given  the  responsibility  of  organizing  and  directing 
the  work ;  and  in  all  these  churches  the  duty  of  the  members 
to  cooperate  with  their  leaders  in  carrying  on  the  work  is 
clearly  understood.  The  pastor  is  always  expected  to  be  a 
leader,  and  the  people,  in  their  theories,  acknowledge  their 
obligation  to  support  him.  They  may  deny  that  he  has 
authority  over  them;  but  they  admit  that,  by  counsel  and 
suggestion,  he  is  to  guide  them  in  their  united  efforts  to  do 
good. 

It  is  evident  that  every  organization  which  proposes  any 
definite  work  must  have  a  leader ;  and  that  it  will  be  necessary 
for  its  members  to  lay  aside  many  of  their  own  preferences, 
and  join  to  carry  out  the  plans  of  the  leader.  If  he  is  incapable 
of  leadership  he  ought  to  be  deposed,  and  his  place  filled  by 
one  who  can  lead.  So  long  as  he  is  at  the  head  of  the  enter- 
prise he  ought  to  be  supported.  Loyalty  to  the  organization 
involves  loyalty  to  the  leader.  This  is  just  as  true  of  a  church 
as  of  a  regiment. 

It  may  be  said  that  many  ministers  appear  to  desire  no 
assistance ;  they  go  forward  with  their  work,  without  calling 
on  their  parishioners  to  cooperate  with  them ;  they  seem  to 
expect  to  do  about  all  that  is  done  in  the  parish.  Probably 
this  is  the  result  of  repeated  failures  to  secure  such  assistance. 
They  may  have  found  it  easier  to  do  the  work  themselves  than 
to  get  others  to  do  it.  Perhaps  the  discovery  among  their 
parishioners  of  a  willingness  to  help  would  lead  them  to 
modify  their  methods. 


THE    HELPFULNESS    OF    HEARING  227 

But  it  is  manifestly  impossible  for  one  man  to  do  all  the 
Christian  work  that  ought  to  be  done  in  an  ordinary  parish ; 
and  it  is  equally  manifest  that  if  the  pastor  could  do  it  all, 
the  people  cannot  afford  to  allow  him  to  do  it.  For  their  own 
sakes  they  need  to  engage  constantly  and  heartily  in  the 
labors  for  which  the  church  is  organized.  And  it  is  a  curi- 
ous sort  of  Christian  who  can  sit  down  contentedly  in  the 
midst  of  the  work  that  waits  everywhere  to  be  done  for 
Christ  and  humanity,  and  find  in  his  heart  no  impulse  to 
engage  in  it. 

Whatever,  therefore,  the  habits  or  expectations  of  the 
pastor  may  be,  the  people  of  the  church,  if  they  have  even 
the  faintest  apprehension  of  the  real  meaning  of  church- 
membership,  will  themselves  have  a  mind  to  work,  and  will 
insist  on  finding  ways  of  working. 

The  remark  may  be  trite,  but  its  truth  is  not  yet  sufficiently 
impressed  upon  the  minds  of  all  church-members,  that  one 
effective  way  of  helping  the  pastor  is  to  attend  faithfully  the 
regular  meetings  of  the  church  —  the  Sunday  services,  the 
prayer-meetings,  the  Sunday-school  sessions,  all  the  assem- 
blies in  which  the  people  meet  for  work  or  worship.  Even 
those  who  take  no  part  in  such  services  are  helping  if  they 
"  assist,"  in  the  French  sense  of  the  word,  by  being  present. 
The  pastor  will  preach  more  effectively  if  the  seats  are  full. 
No  matter  how  devout  and  spiritual  he  may  be,  he  cannot 
help  being  influenced  by  such  conditions.  A  large  congre- 
gation rouses  and  inspires  him.  It  is  not  merely  the  encour- 
agement that  he  feels  on  account  of  the  presence  of  numbers ; 
the  congregation  itself  is  almost  sure  to  be  in  a  more  recep- 
tive mood  if  the  house  is  well  filled.  A  large  congregation  is 
generally  alert,  expectant,  impressible  5  it  listens  more  sym- 
pathetically and  more  responsively  than  a  small  congregation. 
The  pastor  knows  and  feels  this ;  it  is  a  call  upon  him  for  his 
best  service ;  it  rouses  and  kindles  him ;  his  sermon  is  more 
effective.  A  sermon  preached  to  a  large  congregation  not 
only  does  more  good  because  more  persons  hear  it,  but  also 
because  each  person  who  does  hear  it  is  apt  to  be  far  more 
impressed  by  the  truth  of  it  than  if  he  had  heard  it  in  a  sparse 
and  cold  assemblv. 


228  HELPING    THE    PASTOR 

Many  church-members  seem  to  suppose  that  the  reason  for 
going  to  church  is  simply  to  be  taught  and  inspired  j  and 
that,  if  one  does  not  feel  like  going,  the  loss  is  all  his  own. 
But  this  is  far  from  being  true.  You  go  to  church  not  only 
for  the  good  you  can  get,  but  for  the  good  you  can  do.  You 
go  to  help  to  kindle,  by  your  presence,  in  the  great  congrega- 
tion, that  flame  of  sacred  love  which  makes  the  souls  of  those 
who  listen  sensitive  and  mobile  under  the  touch  of  the  truth. 
You  go  to  help  others  to  listen ;  to  help  to  create  the  condi- 
tions under  which  they  can  listen  well.  You  go  to  help  the 
minister  preach ;  to  add  vitality  and  warmth  and  convincing 
power  to  his  words.  Good  preaching  cannot  be  produced  by 
one  man  j  it  is  the  fruit  of  the  combined  power  of  an  inspired 
preacher  and  an  inspired  congregation,  acting  upon  each 
other.  If  the  people  fail  to  supply  their  part  of  the  power, 
the  work  of  the  minister  will  be  much  less  effectually  done. 

If  the  people  of  the  church  generally  stay  away  from  the 
preaching  services,  or  from  any  of  them,  those  who  come  in 
naturally  infer  that  the  church-members  do  not  highly  value 
these  services.  Their  habitual  absence  disparages  the  min- 
ister's work.  But,  even  if  the  outsiders  should  not  draw  this 
inference,  they  will  certainly  fail  to  receive  that  positive  spir- 
itual influence  which  the  presence  of  the  church-members  in 
large  force  would  be  likely  to  impart.  The  fact  that  the 
members  of  the  church  can  do  so  much  by  their  presence  in 
the  sanctuary  to  make  the  preaching  of  the  Word  effective, 
and  the  service  of  the  Lord's  house  impressive  and  useful  to 
all  those  who  come,  is  a  fact  that  should  be  well  considered 
before  devoting  the  best  part  of  Sunday  to  ease  and  recreation. 

What  has  been  said  of  the  Sunday  services  is  even  more 
true  of  the  social  meetings  for  conference  and  worship.  For 
exactly  the  same  reasons  a  large  attendance  at  the  prayer- 
meeting  kindles  the  interest  and  increases  the  usefulness  of 
the  meeting.  This  is  not  because  of  any  unspiritual  reliance 
upon  numbers  or  external  helps ;  it  is  the  working  of  a  law 
of  mind  which  anybody  can  understand.  True  it  is  that  God 
can  work  by  few  as  weU  as  by  many — that  is  to  say,  he  can 
work  miracles ;  but  he  does  not  encourage  us  to  expect  that 
he  will  work  miracles.     He  means  that  we  shall  understand 


THE    HELPFULNESS    OF    HEARING  229 

and  conform  to  the  laws  which  he  has  impressed  on  our  own 
natures.  The  law  of  his  working  is  to  accomplish  more  by 
many  than  by  few.  According  to  the  ordinary  methods  of 
his  grace,  we  should  say  that  more  spiritual  power  would  be 
found  in  an  assembly  of  two  hundred  disciples  than  in  an 
assembly  of  one  hundred.  And  just  as  ten  fagots  will  make 
a  fire  more  than  ten  times  hotter  than  one  fagot,  so  the 
increase  of  numbers  in  an  assembly  of  worshipers  more  than 
proportionately  increases  the  fervor  and  enthusiasm  of  those 
assembled.  The  leader  of  the  meeting,  who  is  generally  the 
pastor,  always  feels  this  influence,  and  the  earnestness  thus 
awakened  in  him  will  be  reflected  upon  the  meeting. 

Much  satire  has  been  expended  upon  those  who  regard 
church-going  as  an  important  Christian  duty.  The  ridicule 
is  somewhat  misplaced.  The  Christian  whose  religion  is 
summed  up  in  church  attendance  is,  indeed,  a  defective  type ; 
nevertheless,  the  old-fashioned  duty  of  going  to  meeting  is 
duty  still,  and  an  important  duty.  It  is  not  purely  for  his 
own  edification  that  the  intelligent  Christian  visits  the  house 
of  God,  but  quite  as  much  for  the  support  and  encouragement 
and  inspiration  that  may  be  imparted  to  others  by  his  pres- 
ence, and  by  his  participation  in  the  worship.  And  this  is  a 
service  that  can  be  rendered  by  many  who  feel  themselves 
incapable  of  teaching  in  the  Sunday-school  or  of  testifying  in 
the  prayer-room.  If  all  those  who  have  the  power  would  be 
faithful  and  conscientious  in  their  attendance  upon  the  ser- 
vices of  the  church,  showing  thus  by  their  constant  presence 
in  its  assemblies  their  interest  in  its  work  and  its  worship, 
many  a  weary  pastor  would  find  his  hands  strengthened  and 
his  heart  lightened. 


Ill 

THE    DUTY    OF    TAKING    OFFICE 

THE  duty  of  accepting  office  needs  to  be  urged  upon 
capable  and  honest  Americans.  As  a  general  rule,  the 
people  who  want  the  political  offices  are  not  fit  to  hold  them, 
and  the  people  who  have  the  requisite  qualifications  cannot  be 
persuaded  to  take  them.  This  is  the  disease  of  our  politics  —  a 
disease  that  threatens  the  life  of  the  nation.  It  cannot  be 
cured  by  simply  shutting  out  the  unfit ;  it  is  equally  necessary 
that  the  responsibilities  of  power  be  accepted  by  the  fit.  It  is 
comparatively  easy  to  keep  bad  men  out  of  office,  when  we  can 
find  good  men  who  are  ready  to  take  office.  The  capable,  the 
trusty,  are  all  the  while  sajdng,  "  I  pray  thee  have  me  excused." 
They  are  too  busy  with  their  own  concerns  to  give  much  time 
to  the  state.  It  is  a  serious  question  how  long  the  nation  can 
endure  this  infidelity  of  its  citizens  to  their  highest  trust.  The 
conduct  of  the  great  majority  of  our  reputable  citizens  deserves 
no  softer  name  than  treachery.  Uniformly  to  repudiate  these 
solemn  responsibilities,  habitually  to  shirk  these  sacred  duties, 
is  a  breach  of  trust  for  which  no  condemnation  can  be  too 
severe.  If  it  is  the  duty  of  aU  to  vote  for  the  best  men,  it 
must  be  the  duty  of  the  best  men  to  stand  and  be  voted  for. 

"It would  involve  a  great  sacrifice,''  says  the  reputable  citizen, 
when  his  neighbors  ask  him  to  take  an  important  office.  "  My 
business  would  suffer ;  I  cannot  afford  it."  Of  course  it  would 
involve  sacrifice.  Undoubtedly  your  business  would  suffer. 
But  how  happen  you  to  be  exempt  from  the  obligations  of  sac- 
rifice, which  are  inseparable  from  citizenship  1  Are  there  no 
sacrifices  to  be  made  for  the  state  except  in  war  time  ?  Your 
business  might  take  some  detriment  while  you  were  serving  the 
state ;  but  what  will  happen  if  you,  and  all  such  as  you,  insist 
on  setting  the  claims  of  business  above  the  obligations  of 
citizenship  ?  The  civil  order  will  be  undermined  by  fraud  and 
maladministration,  and  your  business  will  have  no  foundations 
to  rest  upon.     We  are  coming  to  this  in  many  quarters  much 


THE    DUTY    OF    TAKING    OFFICE  231 

more  rapidly  than  oiir  reputable  citizens  think.  Partisan 
coiu'ts  and  venal  legislatures  and  villainous  city  councils  are 
combining  to  hasten  the  day  when  no  man's  property  will  be 
of  much  value.  And  that  day,  when  it  comes,  will  be  the 
natural  fruit  of  the  doings  of  those  reputable  citizens  who  have 
shirked  their  political  obligations,  and  have  left  the  manage- 
ment of  politics  to  those  who  regard  the  offices  as  spoils. 

In  the  church,  the  difficulty  of  filling  the  offices  with  the  best 
men  is  much  less  troublesome  than  in  the  state.  In  the  church, 
the  vicious  notion  that  the  office  is  booty  does  not  largely 
obtain.  It  is  generally  understood  that  office  is  a  trust ;  and 
the  best  men  are  always  more  ready  to  assume  burdens  than 
to  contend  for  prizes.  Nevertheless,  there  is  often  some 
embarrassment  in  filling  the  responsible  offices  of  the  church 
with  the  best  men.  The  same  reasons  that  hinder  respectable 
citizens  from  taking  political  office  often  operate  to  dissuade 
church-members  of  character  and  ability  from  taking  the 
official  places  in  the  church.  The  offices  of  deacon,  of  elder^ 
of  warden,  of  vestryman,  of  trustee,  of  treasurer,  of  steward,, 
of  Sunday-school  superintendent,  often  go  begging.  The  men 
who  are  best  qualified  to  take  these  offices  are,  they  say,  so  busy 
that  they  cannot  attend  to  them.  But  what  right  has  a  man 
to  be  so  busy  that  he  cannot  do  his  duty  ?  A  curse  must  ever 
rest  on  that  pursuit  of  secular  advantages  which  disables  a 
man  from  seeking  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteous- 
ness. If  the  church  is  to  be  maintained  and  its  work  is  to  be 
efficiently  prosecuted,  the  management  of  its  affairs  must  be 
assumed  by  men  of  energy  and  experience  and  sagacity ;  it  is 
through  their  consecrated  powers  that  its  interests  will  be 
promoted.  Is  that  church  likely  to  achieve  great  results  in 
which  the  ablest  men  devote  all  their  energies  to  business  and 
professional  life,  and  leave  the  leadership  of  spiritual  affaii'S 
to  those  of  second-rate  ability  ?  Is  the  service  of  Mammon  to 
monopolize  the  strong  men  of  the  churches,  and  the  ser\dce 
of  God  to  be  committed  to  the  weak  and  unskillful  ? 

The  pressure  of  business  is  not  the  only  excuse  of  those 
who  refuse  to  take  responsible  positions  in  the  church.  A 
morbid  modesty  restrains  many.  They  will  not  undertake 
these  duties  because  they  fear  that  they  should  not  make  a 


232  HELPING    THE    PASTOR 

good  figure  in  their  performance.  Not  a  little  silly  vanity 
mingles  with  this  reluctance.  When  you  are  called  to  such 
responsibilities  by  those  in  authority,  it  is  generally  safe  to 
consent.  Their  judgment  of  your  ability  is  not,  probably,  at 
fault.  At  any  rate,  when  they  put  the  burden  upon  you,  it 
is  the  manly  and  the  Christian  thing  to  take  it  up  without 
complaints  or  apologies  and  bear  it  as  best  you  can.  If  they 
have  made  a  mistake  in  selecting  you,  it  is  their  fault,  not 
yours.  The  duty  has  come  to  you  unsought ;  it  is  not  for  you 
t(^  reason  that  somebody  else  could  perform  it  more  gracefully 
or  more  efficiently.     Nobody  else  can  do  your  duty. 

Nothing  is  more  embarrassing  to  the  pastor  of  a  church 
than  to  find  among  its  members  a  chronic  disposition  to  shirk 
office  and  responsibility ;  to  refuse  to  act  upon  committees ; 
to  decline,  whenever  they  are  elected,  in  favor  of  somebody 
else.  The  annual  meeting  of  the  church  or  the  parish  is 
often,  for  this  cause,  a  day  of  great  discouragement  to  him. 
And  nothing  helps  him  more  effectually  than  the  knowledge 
that  there  is  among  the  people  a  readiness  to  assume,  without 
questioning,  such  tasks  as  may  be  assigned  to  them. 


IV 
PARISH  VISITING 

THE  people  often  discuss  the  duty  of  the  pastor  to  visit 
his  parishioners,  and  find  much  fault  with  him  when  he 
fails  in  the  performance  of  this  duty ;  but  is  the  pastor  the 
only  member  of  the  church  on  whom  this  obligation  rests  ?  Is 
it  not  quite  as  much  the  duty  of  the  people  to  be  courteous 
one  to  another,  as  of  the  pastor  to  show  kindness  to  all  ?  Do 
not  the  obligations  of  fellowship,  expressed  or  implied,  when 
members  are  received  into  the  church,  include  the  manifesta- 
tion to  one  another  of  neighborly  kindness,  and  the  cultivation 
of  acquaintance  —  at  least  among  those  who  live  in  the  same 
neighborhood  ?  Has  any  member  of  the  church  who  has  failed 
in  this  duty  toward  his  fellow-members  the  right  to  complain 
of  his  pastor  for  having  failed  in  this  duty  to  him  ? 

Doubtless  the  pastor  will  gladly  visit  his  people  in  their 
own  homes  as  often  as  he  is  able  to  do  so.  The  opportunity 
of  becoming  acquainted  with  them  in  this  way  will  be  prized 
by  him.  But  the  pastor  of  a  congregation  numbering  two  or 
three  hundred  families  finds  it  difScult  to  make  frequent  calls. 
In  a  congregation  as  large  as  this,  those  who  are  sick  and  in 
trouble,  and  those  who  for  other  reasons  have  need  of  his 
friendship,  wiU  take  most  of  the  time  that  he  can  give  to  work 
of  this  nature.  In  his  studies,  in  his  pulpit  preparations,  in  his 
multifarious  duties  of  administration,  and  in  the  public  ser- 
vices of  various  sorts  required  of  him  the  pastor^s  days  are 
consumed ;  it  is  not  possible  for  him  to  devote  any  large  por- 
tion of  his  time  to  general  visitation.  Most  of  the  hours  that 
he  can  save  for  this  purpose  he  must  give  to  those  who  have 
special  claims  on  his  sympathy  and  care.  If  much  of  this 
kind  of  work  is  done  in  the  larger  churches,  the  people  them- 
selves must  do  it. 

For  many  reasons  it  is  better  that  the  people  themselves 
should  do  this  work  than  that  it  should  be  done  by  the  pastor. 
The  pastor's  call  is  perfunctory.    He  goes  because  it  is  his 

233 


234  HELPING    THE    PASTOR 

duty  to  go.  It  is  well  if  he  has  the  grace  to  conceal  this  disa- 
greeable fact ;  but  many  of  those  on  whom  he  calls  must  be 
aware  that  it  is  an  official  service,  and  does  not  possess  any 
social  significance.  A  friendly  call  from  one  of  the  members 
of  the  church  might  wear  a  different  look.  It  would  almost 
uniformly  be  accepted  as  an  act  of  friendship  ;  it  w^ould  man- 
ifest the  fellowship  of  the  church  more  clearly  than  a  call  from 
the  pastor. 

It  is  desirable  that  the  several  ties  which  bind  members  to 
the  church  be  as  strong  as  those  which  bind  them  to  their 
pastor.  Those  who  join  the  church,  and  not  the  pastor,  should 
be  received  by  the  church  at  least  as  heartily  as  by  the  pastor. 
Pastors  come  and  go,  but  the  church  abides  5  and  it  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  that  the  attachment  of  each  member  be 
fastened  upon  the  church,  and  not  merely  upon  its  minister. 
To  this  end  some  means  should  be  provided  of  promoting 
acquaintance  and  neighborly  intercourse  among  the  members 
of  the  churches. 

At  one  of  the  churches  of  the  disciples  who  call  themselves 
'^  Christians,"  I  was  present  one  day  when,  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  church,  a  lady  presented  her  letter  at  the  close 
of  the  morning  service,  and  was  received  to  membership,  the 
pastor  extending  to  her,  on  behalf  of  the  brotherhood,  the 
right  hand  of  fellowship.  When  this  simple  rite  had  been 
performed,  the  pastor  gave,  distincth^,  once  or  twice,  the  name 
and  residence  of  the  lady  thus  received.  "  We  all  know,"  he 
said,  ''  that  in  a  congregation  like  ours,  widely  scattered  over 
a  large  city,  it  is  not  possible  for  all  the  members  to  be  on 
terms  of  neighborly  intimacy  ;  but  it  is  possible  for  those  in 
the  same  part  of  the  city  to  know  one  another,  and  I  hope  that 
those  who  reside  in  the  neighborhood  of  our  sister  will  take 
an  early  opportunity  of  calling  upon  her  in  her  home,  and 
presenting  to  her  their  Christian  greetings."  There  are, 
doubtless,  congregations  in  which  such  a  recognition  of  the 
fraternal  relations  of  members  would  not  be  possible;  in  which 
the  members  would  resent  the  suggestion  that  they  owe  any 
courtesies  to  one  another  simply  because  they  belong  to  the 
same  church  and  live  in  the  same  neighborhood;  in  which 
the  barriers  of  social  reserve  and  exclusiveness  are  far  too 


PARISH    VISITING  235 

high  and  strong  to  admit  of  any  genuine  brotherhood ;  but 
people  of  this  class,  though  they  may  call  themselves  Chris- 
tians, are  not  Christians  at  all  5  they  are  pagans ;  and  the 
counsels  of  this  book  are  not  intended  for  them. 

In  churches  which  recognize  a  fraternal  relation  among  their 
members,  and  desire  to  promote  and  strengthen  it,  a  conven- 
ient device  is  the  division  of  the  parish  into  a  nimiber  of  well- 
defined  geographical  districts,  each  of  which  should  be  placed 
in  charge  of  a  pastoral  committee,  consisting  perhaps  of  one 
gentleman  and  three  ladies.  The  directory  of  the  church 
should  be  printed,  with  the  boundaries  of  each  district  dis- 
tinctly defined,  and  the  names  and  residences  of  families  and 
individuals  residing  within  the  district  brought  together.  The 
members  of  the  congregation  can  thus  see  at  a  glance  who 
their  neighbors  are,  and  where  they  live ;  and  they  can,  if  they 
desire,  show  themselves  neighborly  to  those  within  their  reach. 
The  pastoral  committee  should  visit  every  family  in  its  district 
at  least  once  a  year,  and  should  report  to  the  pastor  any  changes 
of  residence  in  the  district,  and  any  removals  from  it,  with  the 
names  of  new-comers  within  their  territory  who  are  attending 
the  church. 

Such  a  division  of  the  parish  into  geographical  districts,  with 
a  pastoral  committee  in  charge  of  each,  is  a  convenient  arrange- 
ment for  many  purposes.  It  is  necessary  to  canvass  the  parish 
from  time  to  time  for  various  objects ;  this  machinery  provides 
a  way  whereby  every  family  can  be  expeditiously  and  surely 
reached.  In  some  churches  the  benevolent  collections  are 
thus  taken  with  but  little  labor.  Cottage  meetings  may  also 
be  held  occasionally  in  the  several  districts  under  the  direction 
of  the  pastoral  committees. 

The  chief  value  of  the  geographical  division  is,  however,  the 
aid  which  it  affords  in  the  cultivation  of  church  fellowship  by 
grouping  the  members  of  the  congregation.  By  means  of  such 
a  system,  it  is  possible  for  those  belonging  to  the  same  church 
to  fulfill  their  fraternal  obhgations  to  one  another,  and  to  fos- 
ter that  sentiment  and  spirit  of  brotherhood  on  which  the 
usefulness  of  the  church  so  largely  depends. 


V 
DROPPED    STITCHES 

THERE  are  quite  a  number  of  small  matters  in  which,  by 
the  exercise  of  a  proper  thoughtfulness,  the  people  may 
greatly  aid  their  pastor.  No  small  share  of  the  time  and 
strength  of  the  minister  of  a  large  church  is  consumed  in 
attention  to  petty  details,  of  which  he  might  be  relieved  if 
the  people  had  a  mind  to  relieve  him.  Not  a  little  of  his 
work  is  the  direct  result  of  their  neglect  and  carelessness. 
Not  a  few  of  his  failures  in  service  might  be  avoided  if  they 
would  cooperate  with  him,  in  ways  which  would  involve  little 
labor  on  their  part. 

It  would  be  a  simple  matter,  for  example,  to  notify  your  min- 
ister when  you  change  your  residence,  that  he  may  make  the 
needful  correction  on  his  calling  list  and  know  where  to  find 
you.  A  postal  card,  costing  one  cent,  and  which  you  could 
inscribe  and  direct  in  less  than  one  minute,  would  convey  to 
him  this  information.  Yet,  I  have  often  spent  hours  in 
hunting  up  families  or  individuals  who  had  changed  their 
residence  without  giving  me  any  notice  whatever.  Indeed, 
in  my  experience  of  twenty-five  years  as  a  pastor,  I  have 
found  very  few  persons  who  were  thoughtful  enough  to  give 
the  minister  this  information,  even  when  their  attention  had 
been  repeatedly  called  to  the  matter  from  the  pulpit.  When 
a  minister  travels  all  the  way  to  Dan  in  search  of  a  parish- 
ioner and  finds  that  the  parishioner,  without  mentioning  the 
matter  to  him,  has  removed  to  Beersheba,  it  does  not  put 
him  in  a  good  humor ;  especially  if,  as  is  often  the  case,  he 
was  in  Beersheba  the  day  before,  and  might,  if  he  had  known 
it,  have  made  this  call  by  walking  a  square  or  two.  I  have 
frequently  traveled  from  two  to  six  miles  to  make  a  call  that 
I  might  have  made  by  traveling  a  few  rods.  And  it  would 
have  been  such  a  simple  matter  for  these  perambulating 
parishioners  to  have  saved  me  all  this  trouble ! 


DROPPED    STITCHES  237 

Very  often  chiireh-m embers  remove  from  the  city  to  distant 
places  without  giving  their  pastor  notice.  Within  the  past 
three  months  I  have  devoted  considerable  time  to  searching 
for  a  missing  family,  and  at  last,  six  months  after  their 
departure,  I  learned  that  they  were  in  Kansas.  Not  a  few  of 
the  absentees  on  the  rolls  of  our  churches  have  behaved  in 
this  way,  and  we  are  now  wholly  unable  to  trace  them.  This 
is  not  only  a  great  annoyance  and  trouble  to  the  pastor ;  it  is 
a  gross  breach  of  their  church  covenant. 

Families  are  sometimes  in  sore  trouble,  through  sickness 
or  other  calamity,  and  the  minister  never  finds  it  out.  They 
do  not  give  him  notice,  and  he  fails,  from  no  fault  of  his  own, 
to  visit  them  in  their  time  of  need.  It  would  have  been  easy 
for  them  to  call  him,  and  he  would  have  answered  their 
summons  most  gladly.  Yet  such  persons  sometimes  cherish 
umbrage  toward  their  pastor  because  he  has  not  rendered 
them  a  service  which  they  gave  him  no  chance  to  render. 
The  faithful  pastor  regrets  every  such  failure.  The  people 
who  are  in  trouble  are  the  people  whom  he  desires  to  see. 
And  if,  in  the  moment  of  their  anxiety  or  their  sorrow,  they 
will  reflect  that  their  pastor  is  not  omniscient,  and  will  let 
him  know  that  they  would  be  glad  to  see  him,  they  will  do 
him  a  great  favor. 

Members  of  the  church  might  aid  the  pastor  greatly  by 
taking  pains  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  new-comers  in  the 
congregation,  or  in  the  neighborhood,  who  seem  disposed  to 
connect  themselves  with  the  church,  and  by  furnishing  the 
pastor  with  their  names  and  places  of  residence.  With  all 
such  strangers  he  desires  to  become  acquainted,  and  it  is 
often  difficult  for  him  to  find  out  who  they  are,  or  to  put 
himself  in  communication  with  them.  Those  who  sit  near 
them  in  church  and  offer  them  the  courtesies  of  the  sanctuary 
can  easily  make  their  acquaintance,  and  learn  whether  or  not 
they  would  be  pleased  to  receive  a  call  from  the  pastor. 

One  of  the  most  unsatisfactory  and  slovenly  departments 
of  the  life  of  many  of  our  churches  is  that  which  relates  to 
absent  members.  In  most  of  our  churches  the  number  of 
absentees  is  large,  often  amounting  to  an  eighth  or  a  tenth 
of  the  entire  membership.     Some  of  these  are  only  tempo- 


238  HELPING    THE    PASTOR 

rarily  absent ;  some  of  tliein  have  gone  away  without  notifying 
the  pastor  of  their  departure;  some  have  been  absent  for 
years.  Over  these  absent  members  the  church  exercises  little 
care.  Many  of  them  fall  into  neglectful  and  irreligious  ways, 
and  have  no  desire  to  renew  their  church  relations.  It  seems 
highly  important  that  some  means  of  communication  be 
established  between  the  church  and  these  absentees,  and  the 
work  may  weU  be  undertaken  by  the  members  of  the  church. 
A  careful  list  should  be  made  out,  with  the  residences  of 
those  absent,  so  far  as  known ;  and  this  list  should  be  taken 
in  charge  by  the  clerk,  or  by  some  member  of  the  church  who 
volunteers  to  perform  this  service.  The  list  should  be  read 
at  some  well-attended  social  meeting,  that  those  present  may 
correct  and  complete  it,  if  they  happen  to  know  the  where- 
abouts of  any  of  the  absent  ones.  Then  these  names  should 
be  parceled  out  for  correspondence  among  the  members  of 
the  church  present,  giving  to  each  correspondent  but  few 
names ;  and  each  one  should  write  regularly,  say  once  in  six 
months,  to  those  assigned  to  him,  explaining  to  each  that  he 
writes  in  the  name  of  the  church,  to  convey  its  greetings  to 
its  absent  communicant,  to  give  him  information  of  the  work 
that  is  going  on  at  home,  and  to  inquire  after  his  welfare. 
A  friendly  letter  of  this  sort,  expressing  the  interest  of  the 
church  in  these  members  now  beyond  its  sight,  and  gently 
reminding  them  of  their  covenant  relations,  will  prove  very 
helpful  to  many  of  them.  The  fact  that  they  are  remembered 
and  cared  for  in  theii*  absence  will  touch  many  of  them 
deeply ;  and  those  that  had  grown  remiss  and  wayward  will 
often  be  called  back  to  better  ways  by  such  a  friendly  word. 

If  the  residence  of  any  absent  member  is  not  known,  it 
should  be  the  duty  of  the  person  to  whom  the  name  is  as- 
signed to  find  it  out.  The  pastor  or  other  persons  may  fur- 
nish clews  to  the  investigation,  but  the  work  of  making  the 
investigation  should  be  left  to  the  correspondent  himself. 
AU  discoveries  of  this  nature,  and  aU  changes  of  residence, 
should  be  reported  by  the  correspondents  to  the  clerk,  or  the 
person  who  keeps  the  list  of  absentees,  that  this  list  may  be 
as  full  and  as  accui^ate  as  possible.  To  those  who  expect  to 
be  permanently  absent,  the  suggestion  may  properly  be  made, 


DROPPED    STITCHES  239 

not  by  the  correspondent,  but  by  some  official  communication 
from  the  church,  that  it  would  be  better  for  them,  if  it  be 
convenient,  to  remove  their  relation  to  some  church  near 
them,  with  which  they  may  engage  in  work  and  in  worship. 

This  work  of  keeping  the  lines  of  communication  open 
between  the  church  and  its  absent  members  will  be  found,  in 
most  cases,  pleasant  and  profitable.  The  answers  that  will 
come  from  many  of  them  will  be  grateful  and  hearty,  and 
some  opportunity  shoidd  be  found  of  reading  these  responses, 
or  such  portions  of  them  as  may  be  properly  read  in  public, 
at  some  social  meeting  of  the  church.  The  fellowship  meeting, 
of  which  a  subsequent  section  will  treat,  would  afford  such  an 
opportunity.  By  this  care  of  the  absentees,  the  pastor  w^ould 
have  one  of  his  anxieties  removed,  and  one  of  the  loose  ends 
of  the  church  administration  neatly  picked  up  and  secured. 

There  are  many  other  ways  in  which  a  vigilant  church  may 
assist  its  leader  in  carrying  on  his  work.  In  every  large  par- 
ish there  is  a  great  deal  of  clerical  work  to  do, —  reports  to 
make  out,  circulars  to  direct,  membership  lists  to  revise, — 
in  all  of  which  the  pastor  might  receive  much  assistance,  if 
his  people  were  ready  to  help  him.  And  they  will  find  it 
greatly  to  their  account  to  relieve  him,  so  far  as  they  can,  of 
this  kind  of  labor,  that  he  may  give  himself  more  fully  to  the 
weightier  studies  and  services  of  his  calling. 


VI 

SEXTONS 

THERE  are  sextons  and  sextons  —  from  the  modest  man 
who  attends  quietly  to  his  own  business,  all  the  way  up 
to  him  who  magnifies  his  office  and  carries  himself  as  if  he 
were  Lord  Chamberlain.  To  be  a  doorkeeper  in  the  house  of 
God  is  indeed  an  honorable  vocation,  but  that  is  no  reason 
why  the  one  filling  it  should  drive  people  from  the  church 
in  disgust  at  his  high  and  mighty  airs. 

Of  the  extent  to  which  the  comfort  of  church-goers  is 
dependent  on  this  functionary,  few  are  aware.  The  seating^ 
indeed,  which  used  to  be  his  special  charge,  is  now  in  many 
churches  attended  to  by  ushers,  and  with  decided  advantages. 
But  where  the  old  custom  still  prevails,  this  official,  in 
addition  to  his  other  duties,  acts  as  a  kind  of  host.  Thus 
it  depends  much  on  him  whether  those  entering  the  Lord's 
house  are  made  to  feel  at  home,  or  are  rendered  more  or  less 
uncomfortable. 

After  the  death  of  a  far-famed,  aristocratic  city  sexton,  one 
of  the  secular  papers  spoke  of  him  as  having  ''  gone  to  a  place 
where  seats  are  not  given  out  according  to  the  quality  of  the 
clothes  worn  by  the  applicant."  A  religious  journal  pro- 
nounces this  a  ^'  ghastly  sarcasm,  yet  so  well  deserved  in 
many  places  that  it  may  well  be  tolerated  for  the  lesson  it 
teaches." 

^^  The  sexton,"  says  Dr.  John  Hall,  ''  should  be  a  genial, 
quiet,  sensible  man,  and,  if  possible,  entirely  in  sympathy  with 
the  pastor  and  his  work.  He  should  be  prompt  and  ready. 
A  great  deal  of  good  or  harm  may  be  done  by  the  way  people 
are  shown  to  their  seats." 

The  office  of  this  official  is  no  sinecure.  The  church  is  to  be 
kept  in  good  order,  which  involves  a  careful  looking  after 
windows  and  doors,  pulpits,  pews,  and  aisles.  Then  there  are 
stoves  and  furnaces  to  be  regulated,  and  everybody  knows 


SEXTONS  241 

how  fitfully  and  how  unwisely  tliis  is  sometimes  done.  On  a 
cold  winter's  day,  when  the  thermometer  is  scarcely  above 
zero,  and  the  winds  come  whistling  in  at  every  window,  one 
will  sometimes  sit  and  shiver  through  the  services.  Then  in 
some  January  thaw,  the  church  will,  perhaps,  be  oppressively 
hot.  In  all  this  the  sexton  has  the  chief  responsibility,  as  also 
for  slamming  blinds  and  creaking  doors. 

Just  so  in  the  vestry  or  chapel.  Foul  air,  or  a  temperature 
too  hot  or  too  cold,  or  smoking  lamps,  or  a  broken  pane  of 
glass — what  an  amount  of  discomfort  follows  any  one  of  these 
annoyances !  And  sometimes  we  have  several  of  them  at  the 
same  time !  People  grow  sleepy  and  nod  their  assent  to  the 
sleepy  speaker,  or  they  sneeze  and  shiver  and  cough,  and  wish 
they  had  n't  come.  Thus,  instead  of  a  means  of  grace,  the 
service  is  very  likely  the  means  of  a  cold,  both  physically  and 
spiritually. 

Sometimes,  on  the  Sabbath,  at  the  very  time  a  hymn  is 
being  sung,  and  indeed,  as  if  that  were  the  particular  oppor- 
tunity he  had  been  waiting  for,  the  sexton  will  ascend  the 
pulpit  stairs  with  a  pUe  of  notices  in  his  hands  to  thrust 
before  the  minister's  eyes.  Whatever  needs  attention,  whether 
arranging  for  ventilation,  or  opening  or  shutting  windows,  or 
whispering  to  this  one  or  to  that  one,  this  is  the  time  chosen, 
as  if  the  singing  were  designed  as  a  sort  of  drapery  to  cover 
all  such  performances. 

Bishop  Huntington  writes : 

''The  most  perfect  sexton  I  ever  saw  was  an  apostle  of  silence.  His 
eye  and  ear  and  hand  were  everywhere,  and  his  genius  for  forestalling 
and  suppressing  confusion  was  wonderful.  Before  service  he  always 
changed  his  boots  for  slippers.  He  glided  about  the  aisles  as  noiselessly 
as  a  ghost.  He  made  doorkeeping  a  fine  art.  Doors  and  windows  were 
fixed  so  that  they  would  never  be  heard.  He  took  care  that  no  sound 
should  come  from  the  furnace  or  gas  fixtures  after  the  service  began. 
The  fact  was  that  this  was  not  a  mere  instinct  of  propriety  or  crafty 
measure  of  success  in  his  office ;  it  was  a  constant  answer  of  his 
believing  and  humble  heart  to  the  solemn  sentence,  '  The  Lord  is  in 
his  holy  temple.'  What  a  contrast  to  the  clumsy,  fussy,  heavy-shod 
brother  in  charge  of  the  stoves  in  a  rural  sanctuary  I  remember,  who 
was  sure  to  start  up  two  or  three  times  in  the  midst  of  prayers,  some- 
times when  the  preacher  was  doing  his  best  to  get  or  hold  the  atten- 
tion of  his  hearers,  march  around  from  his  seat  to  the  fire,  swing  open 

IG 


242  HELPING    THE    PASTOR 

a  striduloTis  stove  door,  punch  the  sticks  with  a  poker,  and  toss  in  an 
additional  supply  of  fuel,  giving  us  another  shrill  screech  from  the 
hinges  as  a  fijiale." 

But  of  all  the  matters  claiming  this  functionary's  attention, 
that  of  ventilation  is  supreme.  How  often  are  the  most  fer- 
vent prayers  and  the  most  eloquent  sermons  wasted  on  an 
assembly  oppressed  and  stultified  by  a  stifling  and  noxious 
air!  A  judge  once  complained  that  for  lack  of  fresh  air 
"our  court-rooms  were  killing  the  judges  and  disturbing 
the  course  of  justice."  Are  these  conditions  any  less  harm- 
ful in  our  chui-ches?  If  the  preacher  would  reach  the  hearts 
of  his  hearers,  nay,  if  his  own  heart  is  to  be  alive  and  glow- 
ing, there  must  be  a  supply  of  the  vital  element.  Unless 
there  can  be  a  constant  inflowing  of  pure  air,  he  might  as 
well  stop  preaching.  Yet  who  has  not  often  seen  the  sex- 
ton, after  the  congregation  has  left  the  church,  carefully 
closing  every  door  and  window,  as  if  anxious  to  shut  in  so 
many  feet  of  square  poison?  And  this,  often,  in  spite  of 
the  specific  and  repeated  injunction  of  the  pastor  to  open 
instead  of  shut. 

The  moment  the  people  are  out,  everything  should  be  set 
wide  open.  And  there  should  be  another  airing  and  revivify- 
ing before  the  assembly  again  gathers.  To  secure  thorough 
ventilation,  it  must  be  line  upon  line  and  precept  upon  pre- 
cept, here  a  little  and  there  a  great  deal.  Let  there  be  no  ces- 
sation in  this  warfare  till  victory  is  achieved. 

Bishop  Simpson  writes : 

"  The  principles  of  ventilation  are  generally  but  poorly  understood  by 
sextons.  They  usually  confound  warm  air  with  pure  air,  and  keep  the 
rooms  closed,  to  have  them  warm.  The  interest  of  many  a  service  is 
destroyed  by  this  means.  People  wonder  what  is  the  matter  with  their 
preacher  and  with  themselves.  They  have  no  life,  no  enthusiasm.  They 
cannot  have  any  when  their  lungs  are  loaded  with  impure  exhalations 
and  their  brains  oppressed  with  imperfectly  oxygenated  blood.  I 
believe  that  the  health  of  many  a  minister  suffers  severely  and  his  life  is 
shortened  in  consequence  of  breathing  impure  air.  I  wish  we  could  have 
an  art  school  for  sextons  (if  it  were  only  possible  to  get  them  together), 
or  a  course  of  lectures,  or  a  good  manual  to  guide  them  in  their  duties. 
Some  of  them  are  intelligent  and  skillful  and  worthy  of  praise  ;  but  too 
many,  especially  in  small  churches,  are  grossly  ignorant. 


SEXTONS  243 

"  A  ministerial  friend  once  related  to  me  a  scene  lie  had  witnessed.  A 
church  in  a  country  place  had  been  enlarged  and  repaired,  and  the  open- 
ing services  were  about  to  be  held,  at  which  he  was  invited  to  officiate. 
The  trustees  had  bought  a  thermometer,  and  charged  the  sexton  that  the 
temperature  must  be  kept  between  60  and  70  ;  but  in  no  case  must  it 
get  higher  than  70.  The  day  was  a  little  cool,  and  the  minister  noticed 
the  sexton  examining  the  thermometer,  which  hung  against  a  column. 
Then  he  put  wood  in  the  stove.  In  a  few  minutes  he  examined  the  ther- 
mometer again,  and  put  more  wood  in  the  stove ;  after  which  he  exam- 
ined it  again,  and  seemed  to  be  in  trouble.  He  opened  the  stove-door, 
looked  again,  scratched  his  head;  and,  finally,  as  if  a  sudden  thought 
struck  him,  he  seized  the  thermometer  with  both  hands  and  ran  out-of- 
doors  into  the  cold  air,  determined  to  bring  it  down  to  70." 

One  evening,  a  gentleman  suffered  so  much  from  cold  feet 
in  church  that  after  service  he  spoke  of  it  to  the  sexton,  who 
admitted  that  many  had  complained  of  the  same  thing  j  but 
that  he  could  not  understand  it,  as  they  had  large  fires.  He 
then  pointed  to  a  register  near  the  gentleman,  that  he  might 
see  there  was  a  hot  fire  in  the  furnace,  though  no  heat  came 
up.  A  handkerchief  laid  over  the  register  hardly  stirred.  The 
visitor  inquired  if  there  was  any  ventilation.  "  No,  sir."  "  Are 
there  no  windows  open  !  '^  ^^  None  whatever."  '^  How,  then, 
can  you  expect  the  air  to  come  in  here  if  it  can't  get  out  some- 
where ? ''  The  man  was  nonplused.  ^'  Did  you  ever  try  to 
blow  into  a  bottle  ? "  continued  the  inquirer.  "  No,  sir."  "  Do 
you  think,  if  you  did,  that  you  could  force  out  any  more  air 
from  a  bottle  by  blowing  than  was  in  it  before  ?  "  He  could  n't 
say.  Never  had  thought  of  it.  "  Well,"  continued  the  gentle- 
man, "  you  would  soon  find,  if  you  tried,  that  it  was  impossible, 
and  neither  can  you  force  air  into  this  church  through  a  regis- 
ter, if  you  don't  open  a  window  or  some  other  orifice."  "  But," 
the  sexton  demurred,  "  opening  the  window  would  let  in  the  cold 
air,  would  n't  it  ? "  ^'  You  just  try  it,"  was  the  response.  ^^  Raise 
some  of  the  windows  on  the  leeward  side  of  the  church,  and 
see  what  will  happen."  It  was  done,  and  instantly  the  hand- 
kerchief lying  on  the  register  rose  half-way  to  the  ceiling  with 
the  force  of  the  ascending  current.  The  sexton  stared  in 
astonishment. 

Why  is  it  that  women  are  never  appointed  to  the  office  of 
sexton?     In  sweeping  and  dusting,   in  looking  after  the 


244  HELPING    THE    PASTOR 

corners  and  cornices  and  crevices,  is  not  woman  more  of  an 
adept  than  man?  Give  them  each  a  disordered  or  a  dis- 
mantled room  to  put  in  order,  and  compare  the  results.  At 
any  rate,  why  not  appoint  a  man  and  his  wife  as  a  sort  of 
double  sexton,  committing  the  nicer  work  and  the  finishing 
touches  to  her  ? 

As  to  the  matter  of  ventilation,  a  woman's  wits  could  hardly 
be  duller  than  that  of  the  man  Bishop  Simpson  refers  to. 
Certainly  some  way  should  be  contrived  to  keep  the  air  pure 
and  fresh,  and  that  without  exposing  people  to  draughts. 
Sometimes  a  single  pane  in  the  window  is  arranged  so  that 
it  can  be  opened  as  occasion  requires,  and  thus,  with  the 
blind  closed,  a  good  supply  of  oxygen  be  secured.  Some- 
times the  window  is  slightly  raised,  while  a  piece  of  board 
or  a  cleat  is  placed  under  the  lower  sash,  so  as  to  admit 
air  without  a  direct  current.  As  a  means  of  insuring  the 
proper  temperature  and  also  purity  of  air,  every  church 
should  be  supplied  with  a  thermometer,  barometer,  and 
anemometer. 

But  however  excellent  may  be  the  arrangements,  unless  the 
official  in  charge  is  competent  for  his  place,  they  are  worse 
than  wasted.  I  have  in  mind  a  church  edifice  that  is  provided 
with  the  best  methods  of  ventilation.  They  might,  however, 
just  as  well  have  been  omitted,  as  no  use  whatever  is  made  of 
them. 

In  explaining  to  an  American  gentleman  the  apparatus  for 
ventilation  under  the  Houses  of  Parliament,  the  chief  engineer 
remarked:  "After  all,  the  perfection  is  in  the  fact  that  my 
assistants  have  been  here  for  years,  and  know  how  to  regulate 
air  and  temperature  according  to  the  indications  of  outdoor 
air  and  indoor  circumstances.  I  sometimes  find,"  added  he, 
"  that  when  debate  is  most  excited  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
it  is  safe  to  let  in  quantities  of  air  that  would  be  quite  criti- 
cised in  the  moments  of  calm  stolidity  over  a  long-drawn, 
uninteresting  speech.'^ 

I  cannot  better  emphasize  this  point  than  with  the  "  Appeal 
to  a  Sexton,"  which  every  few  years  goes  the  rounds  of  the 
papers.  While  the  occasion  for  it  is  as  great  as  ever,  no  one 
can  complain  of  its  reiteration. 


SEXTONS  245 


A    APELE    FOR    ARE:    2    THE    SEXTANT    OF 
THE    OLD    BRICK    MEETIN'OUSE. 

BY    A    GASPER. 

O,  Sextant  of  the  meetin'ouso,  which  sweeps 

And  dusts,  or  is  supposed  to !  and  makes  fires 

And  lites  the  gass,  and  sometimes  loaves  a  seru  loose, 

In  which  case  it  smels  orful — wus  nor  lam-pile: 

And  wrings  the  bel,  and  toles  it  wen  men  dyes, 

To  the  grief  of  surviven  pardners ;  &  sweeps  paths ; 

And  for  these  services  gits  $100  per  annum, 

Wich  them  that  thinks  deer,  let  them  tri  it; 

Getin  up  before  star-lite  in  all  wethers,  and 

Kiudlin'  fires  when  the  wether  is  as  cold 

As  Nero,  and  like  as  not  green  wood  for  kindlins: 

I  wouldn't  bo  hired  to  do  it  for  no  some. 

But  O,  Sextant!  there  are  1  kermoddity 

Worth  more  than  gold,  which  doan't  cost  nothink  — 

Worth  more  than  anythink  except  the  sole  of  Mann ; — 

I  meen  power  are.  Sextant ;  I  meen  power  are  ! 

O,  it  is  plenty  out  o'  doors,  so  plenty  it  doan't  no 

Whot  on  airth  to  do  with  itself,  but  flies  about 

Scatterin'  leaves  and  blowin'  off  men's  hatts; 

In  short,  it 's  jest  *'as  free  as  are"  out-dores. 

But  0,  Sextant,  in  our  cherch  it 's  as  scarce  as  piety. 

Scarce  as  bankbills  when  ajunts  beg  for  mishins, 

Wich  sum  say  is  purty  often  ('tain't  uothin'  to  mee  ; 

Wot  I  give  aint  nothin'  to  nobody);  but  O,  Sextant, 

U  shot  500  men,  wimin  &  children, 

Speshaly  the  latter,  up  in  a  tite  place. 

Sum  has  bad  broths,  none  aint  2  sweet. 

Sum  is  fevery,  sum  is  scroflous,  sum  has  bad  teeth. 

An  some  haint  none,  &  some  aint  over  clean : 

But  1  of  em  brethes  in  and  out,  and  out  and  in, 

Say  50  times  a  minit,  or  1  million  &  a  half  breths  an  our. 

Now  how  long  will  a  cherch  ful  of  are  last  at  that  rate? 

I  ask  you.     Say  15  minits,  and  then  wots  to  be  did? 

Why  then  they  mus  brethe  it  all  over  agin, 

And  then  they  mus  brethe  it  all  over  agin, 

And  then  agin,  &  so  on  till  each  has  took  it  down 

At  least  10  times,  &  let  it  up  agin.     And  wots  more, 

The  same  individdible  doan't  have  the  privilege 

Of  breathin'  his  own  are  and  jio  one's  else ; 

Each  one  must  take  whatever  comes  to  him. 

O,  Sextant,  doan't  you  know  our  lunks  is  bellussess. 


246  HELPING   THE    PASTOR 

To  bio'  the  fier  of  life  and  keep  it  from 

Going  out;  &  how  can  bellussess  bio  without  wind? 

And  ain't  wind  ARE  ?    I  put  it  to  your  coushens. 

Are  is  same  to  us  as  milk  to  babies, 

Or  water  is  to  fish,  or  pendulum  to  elox, 

Or  roots  &  airbs  unto  an  injun  Doctor, 

Or  little  pills  unto  an  omepath, 

Or  boys  to  girls.    Are  is  for  us  to  breethe; 

Wot  signifies  who  preeches  if  I  can't  breeth? 

Wots  Pol,  wots  Polus  to  sinners  who  are  ded, 

Ded  for  want  of  breth  ?    Why,  Sextant,  when  we  dye, 

It 's  only  coz  we  can't  breethe  no  more  —  that's  all. 

And  now,  O  Sextant,  let  me  beg  of  you 

2  let  a  little  are  inter  our  cherch, 

(Pewer  are  is  sorting  propper  for  the  pews,) 

And  do  it  week  days,  and  on  Sundays  too. 

It  aint  much  truble  —  only  make  a  hoal, 

And  all  the  are  will  cum  of  itself. 

It  luves  to  cum  in  were  it  can  get  warm. 

And  O  how  it  will  rouse  the  peple  up, 

And  spirit  up  the  preecher,  and  stop  gapes 

And  yauns  &  fijjitts,  as  effectual 

As  wind  on  the  dry  Boans  the  Profit  talks 

Of. 


VII 
THE    PEOPLE   AT   WORK 


HOW    TO    BEGIN    CHURCH   WORK 


^^^jfV^^^I 

i 

HE  way  to  begin  is  to  join  tlie  church.  As 
soon  as  one  has  begun  the  Christian  life, 
he  ought  to  connect  himself  with  the  Chris- 
tian church.  Belonging  to  Christ  involves 
belonging  to  the  body  of  which  Christ  is 
the  head.  He  who  has  said  to  Jesus  Christ, 
"Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do?'' 
and  has  listened  for  the  answer  to  that  question,  has  not 
failed  to  hear  the  command:  "Confess  me  before  men  and 
be  numbered  among  my  disciples."  Some  questions  of  Chris- 
tian obligation  are  hard  to  solve,  but  this  is  not  one  of  them. 
Some  duties  are  beyond  the  power  of  some  disciples;  this 
duty  rests  on  every  one.  Belonging  to  the  church  invisible 
is  not  enough.  We  must  belong  to  the  visible  church;  we 
must  stand  up  and  be  counted.  Christ  has  established  on  the 
earth  a  visible  organization.  By  this  the  sacraments  are 
administered,  the  ministry  of  the  Word  is  promoted,  the 
work  of  evangelizing  the  world  is  done.  Into  this  aU  be- 
lievers are  called ;  not  merely  some  believers,  but  all  believers. 
Is  there  any  hint,  anywhere  in  the  New  Testament,  that  any 
class  or  kind  of  disciples  is  excused  from  membership  in  the 
Christian  church  ?  It  is  not  for  old  disciples  any  more  than 
it  is  for  young  ones ;  it  is  not  for  the  strong  any  more  than 
for  the  weak ;  it  is  not  for  the  perfect  so  much  as  for  the 
imperfect ;  it  is  not  for  those  whose  salvation  is  accomplished ; 

247 


248  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

it  is  for  those  that  are  being  saved.  Read  the  last  verse  of 
the  second  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  in  the  Revised 
Version,  and  see  who  were  added  to  the  church  in  the  Pente- 
costal days.  Those  who  were  "  being  saved.^^  The  work  of 
salvation  was  going  on  in  them,  but  it  had  only  just  begun. 
It  began  when  they  surrendered  themselves  to  Jesus  Christ — 
owning  him  as  Master  and  Lord;  and  just  as  soon  as  they 
made  this  surrender  to  him  they  were  baptized  into  his  name. 
They  were  far  from  being  perfect  Christians.  They  were  full 
of  errors  and  inconsistencies  and  defects  5  but  they  had  given 
themselves  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  disciples  took  them  into 
the  church  by  thousands.  They  came  in  because  they  were 
ignorant;  the  church  was  the  place  appointed  for  their 
instruction.  They  came  in  because  their  lives  were  incon- 
sistent and  defective,  that  they  might  be  guided  into  the 
ways  of  integrity  and  trained  for  a  worthy  service.  There 
is  no  other  place  for  one  who  has  begun  to  follow  Christ 
except  the  church  of  Christ.  He  belongs  there,  just  as  much 
as  a  soldier  belongs  in  an  army;  just  as  much  as  a  child 
belongs  in  his  father's  house.  He  is  out  of  his  place  if  he 
is  out  of  the  church.  He  has  no  right  to  be  outside.  It  is 
a  pri\dlege  for  a  follower  of  Christ  to  join  the  church,  in  just 
the  same  sense  that  it  is  his  privilege  to  speak  truth  or  to  do 
righteousness.  It  is  his  privilege,  but  it  is  his  bounden  duty 
also ;  if  he  neglects  it,  he  is  not  doing  what  Christ  would  have 
him  do. 

^'  But  there  are  many  churches — which  shall  I  join?"  That 
is  largely  a  matter  of  individual  preference.  Find  some  com- 
pany of  worshipers  who  own  Jesus  Christ  as  Master  and 
Lord,  and  who,  by  faith  in  him  and  with  loyalty  to  him,  are 
working  to  build  the  kingdom  of  heaven  in  the  world,  and 
join  yourself  to  them.  Any  company  of  believers  of  whom 
this  is  true  is  a  Christian  church,  and  no  company  of  people 
of  whom  this  is  not  true  is  a  Christian  church.  Probably 
your  early  associations  will  influence  your  choice.  You  are 
more  likely  to  be  happy  in  a  communion  with  whose  services 
and  ways  of  working  you  are  familiar.  But  the  main  ques- 
tion should  be:  ^' Where  can  I  learn  the  fastest  and  serve 
the  best  r' 


HOW   TO    BEGIN    CHURCH   WORK  249 

When  you  have  made  up  your  mind  which  church  you  will 
join,  go  right  to  the  minister  and  tell  him  what  you  desire. 
Be  perfectly  frank  with  him.  Tell  him  that  you  do  not  con- 
sider yourseK  a  perfect  Christian,  that  there  are  many  things 
which  you  do  not  understand,  and  many  particulars  in  which 
you  fail,  but  that  you  have  made  up  your  mind  to  be  a  disciple 
and  follower  of  Jesus  Christ ;  that  you  are  looking  to  him 
every  day  for  help  to  do  right ;  and  that  you  want  to  own  him 
as  your  Master  and  Saviour,  and  to  consecrate  your  life  to  his 
service.  You  are  not  very  likely,  I  think,  to  be  repelled  by 
any  Christian  minister  to  whom  you  go  with  such  a  declara- 
tion. Nor  is  he  likely  to  insist  upon  any  elaborate  examina- 
tion of  your  theology;  there  are  few  ministers  nowadays 
who  wiUnot  joyfully  welcome  any  disciple,  even  though  weak 
in  the  faith,  who  can  say  as  much  as  this. 

But  perhaps  the  church  has  a  theological  creed  to  which  you 
will  be  obliged  to  assent  when  you  are  received  into  member- 
ship. It  may  be  that  there  are  statements  in  the  creed  which 
you  do  not  understand,  and  cannot  honestly  say  that  you 
believe.  This  is  a  point  at  which  you  are  bound  to  be  careful. 
Possibly,  after  further  study,  you  may  be  able  to  see  that 
these  statements  are  true.  If  you  can,  of  course  you  will  have 
no  hesitation  about  assenting  to  them ;  but  if  you  cannot,  stop 
where  you  are.  Do  not,  in  the  solemn  moment  of  consecration 
to  Christ's  service,  say  that  you  believe  what  you  do  not 
believe.  Christ  wants  you  in  his  church,  but  he  does  not  want 
you  to  come  in  with  a  lie  upon  your  lips.  If  there  is  no  door 
open  to  you  but  the  door  of  falsehood  and  prevarication, 
stay  out.  You  can  find  some  other  body  of  believers  that 
will  let  you  in  without  asking  you  to  make  any  other  pro- 
fession than  that  of  your  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  and  your 
loyalty  to  him. 

Having  gained  entrance  to  the  church,  you  will  be  ready  to 
begin  church  work.  And  in  most  cases,  the  best  way  is  to  go 
to  your  pastor  and  ask  him  to  show  you  what  to  do.  It  is  his 
business  to  organize  and  dii'ect  the  work  of  the  church  ;  prob- 
ably he  wiU  have  some  place  into  which  he  can  put  you  at 
once.  If  he  gives  you  no  definite  suggestions  the  first  time, 
go  to  him  again  j  do  not  let  him  forget  it  j  make  him  see  that 


250  THE    PEOPLE   AT    WORK 

yon  are  in  earnest  in  yonr  wish  to  find  some  way  of  helping  on 
the  work  of  the  church. 

In  the  mean  time,  keep  your  own  eyes  open.  Ways  of  serv- 
ing are  apt  to  be  revealed  to  those  who  are  looking  for  service. 
Only  do  not  look  too  high.  There  are  many  small  ministries 
on  which  the  welfare  of  the  church  largely  depends,  and  which 
are  apt  to  be  neglected.  See  if  you  cannot  attend  to  some  of  these. 
It  is  better  to  be  a  door-keeper  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  than 
to  be  a  dead-head.  Most  valuable  service  is  that  which  is 
performed  by  the  ushers  who  stand  at  the  door  of  the  sanctu- 
ary, and  there  illustrate  the  patience  and  the  courtesy  and 
the  good  nature  which  are  the  fruits  of  the  spirit.  There  is 
work  to  be  done  to  make  and  keep  the  church,  or  the  Sunday- 
school  room,  or  the  prayer-room,  comfortable  and  beautiful  j 
whatever  you  can  do  in  these  directions  is  excellent  service. 
Committees  are  to  be  appointed,  now  and  then,  to  perform 
labors  that  are  burdensome  and  thankless.  Be  ready  to  take 
your  place  on  such  committees  when  you  are  appointed,  and 
to  do  your  work  so  thoroughly  that  you  shaU  come  to  be 
known  as  one  who  can  be  depended  on. 

Perhaps  you  hold  the  pen  of  a  ready  wi'iter.  If  so,  there 
may  be  many  ways  in  which  you  can  make  yourself  useful. 
Your  minister  or  your  Sunday-school  superintendent  may  be 
a  busy  man,  whom  you  can  help  by  making  out  reports,  or 
filling  up  blanks,  or  directing  envelopes.  Go  and  teU  him  to 
send  you  any  odd  jobs  of  writing  that  you  can  do.  Not  a  little 
of  the  time  and  strength  of  those  on  whom  the  greater  burdens 
of  the  church  rest  is  consumed  in  labors  that  might  just  as 
well  be  performed  by  those  who  are  suffering  for  the  lack  of 
something  to  do. 

The  church  is  engaged  in  various  kinds  of  work.  The  Sun- 
day-school is  one  of  the  most  important,  and  you  may  be  able 
to  help  in  that.  If  your  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  is  suffi- 
cient to  qualify  you  for  the  work  of  teaching,  volunteer  for  that 
service.  Teachers  are  always  wanted.  If  you  do  not  know 
enough  about  the  Bible  to  teach  a  class  of  little  children,  go  to 
work  at  once  and  prepare  yourself  to  teach.  Give  a  good  part 
of  your  leisure  to  faithful  and  thorough  study  of  the  Bible. 
Do  not  be  content  with  what  you  can  pick  up  in  a  Bible  class  on 


HOW    TO    BEGIN    CHURCH   WORK  251 

Sunday ;  your  first  business  is  to  acquaint  youi'self  with  tlie 
Word  of  God  5  and  an  hour  a  week  is  not  enough  for  that. 
But  by  all  means  connect  yourself  with  the  Sunday-school  at 
once,  either  as  teacher  or  as  pupil,  or  as  helper  in  some  part  of 
its  work.  As  a  general  rule  the  Sunday-school  is  the  only  Sun- 
day service  in  which  the  members  of  our  churches  have  a  chance 
to  do  any  work,  to  exercise  their  gifts  or  their  power  in  any 
way.  In  the  other  Sunday  services  the  work  is  all  done  by  the 
minister  and  the  choir  and  the  ushers  and  the  sexton  j  the  great 
majority  of  the  members  are  wrought  upon,  more  or  less,  but 
they  do  not  work.  The  only  Sunday  service  that  is  in  the  true 
sense  a  service  is  the  Sunday-school ;  and  church-members  who 
wish  to  give  as  well  as  receive,  who  are  not  willing  to  be  mere 
sponges,  ought  to  be  in  some  way  connected  with  the  Sunday- 
school.  Besides,  it  is  through  the  Sunday-school  that  the  mis- 
sion work  of  the  church  in  its  own  neighborhood  is  most 
effectually  carried  on.  The  families  that  neglect  worship  can 
generally  be  more  easily  reached  through  their  children.  The 
work  of  invitation  which  every  chui'ch  ought  to  be  prosecuting 
is  most  wisely  done  through  the  Sunday-school,  and  this 
requires  a  large  number  of  church-members,  adults  as  well  as 
children,  in  the  Sunday-school.  With  a  little  instruction  from 
your  pastor  or  your  Sunday-school  superintendent,  you  will  be 
prepared  to  engage  in  this  work.  Get  them  to  assign  you 
some  small  district  for  the  pastoral  care  of  which  you  may  be 
responsible ;  find  out  the  families  in  it  that  are  not  connected 
with  any  church  ;  call  on  them  in  a  friendly  way ;  invite  them 
to  Sunday-school  and  to  church ;  do  not  be  satisfied  with  one 
visit,  but  call  often  and  get  acquainted  with  them ;  carry  a  few 
flowers  or  a  picture-card  for  the  children  ;  win  their  friendship, 
and  bring  them  to  the  house  of  God.  Some  of  them  may  be 
obdurate,  but  the  hearts  of  many  of  the  poor  can  be  gained  by 
considerate  and  patient  endeavor.  Having  found  your  way 
into  a  few  such  families,  opportunities  of  Christian  ser\ice  will 
open  to  you  on  every  hand. 

You  ought  to  begin  at  once  also  to  help  in  the  social 
meetings  of  the  church.  It  may  not  be  necessary  that  you 
shoidd  make  speeches  ;  but  you  can  at  any  rate  ask  questions. 
The  topic  of  the  meeting  will  be  in  your  thought  during  the 


252  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

week,  and  there  will  be  some  phase  of  it  on  which  yon  will 
want  light.  Of  conrse  I  do  not  refer  to  difficult  or  dispnted 
questions  of  theology  j  the  prayer-meeting  is  no  place  for  these ; 
if  you  want  help  in  settling  such  questions,  go  to  your  minister 
privately.  But  there  will  be  questions  of  Cliristian  experience 
or  of  Cliristian  duty,  on  which  you  will  need  some  counsel ; 
bring  them  to  the  prayer-meeting,  and  if  a  proper  moment 
comes,  present  them  there,  as  briefly  and  plainly  as  you  can. 
It  is  often  a  great  boon  to  a  prayer-meeting  to  have  a  question 
asked  if  it  be  one  that  bears  directly  on  Christian  living.  You 
may  be  able  also  to  give  now  and  then,  in  a  few  simple  words, 
a  bit  of  your  experience.  If  you  have  tested  any  word  of 
Scripture,  you  may  repeat  it  and  say,  "  That  is  true,  I  know,  for 
I  have  proved  it."  A  testimony  of  this  sort,  that  can  be  given 
in  half  a  minute,  is  often  far  more  effective  than  a  ten-minute 
speech.  What  we  most  need  to  establish  the  truth  of  our 
religion,  and  bring  men  to  believe  it,  is  not  argument  but 
testimony.     "  Ye  are  my  witnesses,"  saith  the  Lord. 

There  are  many  ways  of  helping  on  the  work  of  the  church 
of  which  I  have  not  spoken ;  I  have  sought  to  offer  a  few  sug- 
gestions to  those  who  are  in  earnest  as  to  the  best  way  to  begin. 


II 

THE  MIDWEEK  SERVICE 

IT  is  not  only  the  Nilometer  showing  how  high  the  waters 
rise,  but  it  is  the  Nile  itself.  If  it  runs  low,  the  outbranch- 
ing  channels  are  empty  and  the  church  territory  is  barren; 
if  the  flow  be  f uU,  there  are  harvests. 

How  can  the  prayer-meeting  be  made  effective !  This  is  a 
troublesome  problem.  It  confi-onts  the  pastor  like  a  sphinx, 
and  asks  questions  which  he  must  answer  aright  or  suffer. 
If  he  can  solve  this  difficulty  he  may  expect  success.  There 
are  perils.  The  prayer-meeting  may  degenerate  into  a  weekly 
lecture  by  the  minister,  or  it  may  develop  into  deep  ruts  in 
which  a  few  persons  —  the  same  every  week  —  travel  with 
prosy  speeches  and  tedious  prayers.  Then  people  steer  clear 
of  it,  as  a  boatman  steers  clear  of  a  sand-bank,  not  wishing  to 
run  his  vessel  high  and  dry  upon  it.  In  either  case  the  meet- 
ing is  a  failure. 

I  wish  to  relate  an  experience,  rather  than  offer  a  theory. 
Years  ago  when  I  was  a  pastor  in  San  Francisco,  I  was  for  a 
long  time  much  perplexed  about  my  prayer-meeting.  It  did  not 
suit  me.  I  carried  it  as  a  burden,  and  groaned  under  the 
weight.  It  lacked  spiritual  vivacity.  No  adequate  energies 
flowed  out  from  it  into  our  church  life.  It  brought  me  no 
strength,  and  gave  me  no  comfort.  I  resolved  to  make  obser- 
vations in  the  fields  of  others.  I  went  secretly  round  to  the 
prayer-meetings  of  the  leading  churches  in  that  city.  I  crept 
in  late  and  hid  myself  in  the  remotest  corner,  or  behind  a  pil- 
lar, if  there  were  one.  I  noted  aU  that  took  place.  Moreover, 
I  thought  much  upon  the  subject  and  prayed  for  light  and 
help. 

As  the  result  of  all  this  I  revolutionized  my  prayer-meeting. 
It  revived  and  thrived  and  began  to  approach  my  ideal. 
Strangers  were  attracted.  Even  those  who  were  not  chui-ch- 
members  liked  to  come.  It  became  a  joy  to  me  and  a  fount- 
ain of  refreshment.     Often  I  went  in  dejected  and  came  out 

253 


254  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

inspirited.  This  was  fourteen  years  ago.  Since  then,  though 
I  have  never  come  up  to  my  aim,  the  way  and  the  goal  have 
seemed  clear  to  me.  Permit  me  to  give  you  a  few  hints; 
they  may  be  useful.  Certainly,  when  I  was  inquiring,  I 
should  have  welcomed  them.    I  would  say  to  pastors : 

First.  You  cannot  afford  to  slight  your  prayer-meeting. 
Magnify  it.  Let  it  engage  your  best  thoughts  and  affections. 
Always  thoughtfully  prepare  yourself  for  it.  Set  yourseK 
courteously  to  break  up  aU  obstructive  formalities.  Exorcise 
the  demon  of  criticism.  Be  enthusiastic.  Be  determined  to 
advance  the  meeting  to  perfection. 

Second.  Lay  out  a  scheme  of  subjects  that  shall  cover  a 
period  of  three  months  and  print  it  and  freely  distribute  it 
in  the  congregation ;  or,  announce  a  book  of  Scripture  which 
you  intend  to  expound  consecutively.  Every  Sabbath  call 
attention  to  the  theme  for  the  next  meeting. 

Third.  Be  prompt.  Begin  at  the  moment.  Never  wait  for 
anybody.  Continue  one  hour.  End  with  equal  punctuality. 
Then  all  know  what  to  expect,  and  can  make  their  arrange- 
ments accordingly.  In  a  time  of  revival  a  gentleman  came 
to  me  and  said,  "Please  lengthen  out  the  meetings."  I 
replied,  "  No ;  my  meeting  begins  exactly  at  eight  and  closes 
precisely  at  nine.  If  you  wish,  at  nine,  to  initiate  a  second 
meeting,  I  will  not  object.  I  am  ready  to  help.  But  the 
regular  meeting  must  maintain  its  regularity." 

Fourth.  Give  your  exposition  in  the  early  part  of  the  even- 
ing. I  have  tried  other  ways,  but  always  came  back  to  this 
as  the  best.  Let  your  deliverance  be  short,  pithy,  vigorous, 
compact,  comprehensive,  and  practical.  Let  it  be  a  con- 
densed sermon.  Remember  that  in  this  age  of  steamers, 
locomotives,  telegraphs,  and  telephones  the  taste  for  con- 
ciseness has  become  a  passion. 

Fifth.  Be  master  of  your  hymn-book.  If  you  have  a  poor 
one,  get  rid  of  it.  Select  the  best — not  a  sensational  collec- 
tion, but  one  that  wiU  wear  weU.  Do  not  choose  too  bulky 
a  book ;  it  will  be  a  mill-stone  round  the  neck  of  the  meeting. 
Study  the  hymn-book.  Mark  all  the  best  hymns  and  tunes. 
Be  able  to  turn  instantly  to  a  hymn,  or  a  verse  of  a  hymn, 
that  shall  be  accordant  with  a  sentiment  that  may  come  to 


THE    MIDWEEK    SERVICE  255 

the  surface,  or  that  shall  be  powerful  to  create  one  that  you 
desire.  You  can  often  use  your  hymn-book  as  a  mill-race  and 
turn  a  fall  of  water  upon  a  wheel  which  you  wish  to  rotate. 

SixfJi.  Be  master  of  the  singing.  Lead  it  yourself  if  you 
can.  If  notj  have  a  good  singer  who  shall  sit  near  you,  and 
be  in  complete  sympathy  with  you;  as  responsive  to  the 
glance  of  your  eye  as  gunpowder  is  to  a  spark.  Or,  prevail 
upon  some  of  your  people  who  are  singers  to  sit  on  the 
front  seat  directly  before  you,  who  shall  catch  up  the  hymn 
as  soon  as  your  lips  indicate  it.  If  you  use  a  melodeon,  have 
it  placed  close  to  your  platform.  Do  not  permit  the  tune  to 
be  played  over  in  advance.  Allow  no  interludes.  Precious 
time  is  thus  lost,  and  stiff iiess  is  induced.  Sing  often.  Fre- 
quently one  verse  is  enough  at  a  time.  Do  not  use  didactic 
hymns,  but  those  that  are  praises  and  prayers. 

Seventh.  Regulate  the  praying.  Pray  short  yourself. 
Insist  that  this  exercise  shaU  always  be  brief.  If  necessary, 
introduce  a  bell,  and  with  its  sharp  click  break  in  two  the 
backbone  of  every  long  prayer.  Three  minutes  are  sufficient. 
Educate  to  brevity  and  pertinency.  Have  as  many  prayers 
as  possible. 

Eightli.  After  your  own  exposition,  make  the  meeting  free 
for  universal  participation.  Urge  the  people  to  meditate  on 
the  passage  through  the  preceding  week,  and  to  come  with 
at  least  one  definite  thought  to  be  uttered.  Encourage  the 
young  people  to  take  a  part.  Invite  the  women  to  do  like- 
wise. Elucidate  the  social  nature  of  a  true  prayer-meeting. 
There  should  be  as  much  liberty  as  in  a  company  of  inti- 
mate friends  in  a  parlor.  In  the  parlor  women  are  not  silent ; 
they  generally  do  their  share  of  the  talking.  Why  should 
they  be  dumb  in  the  one  great  social  gathering  of  the  church  f 
Ask  those  who  do  not  like  to  rise  to  bring  questions  and  pro- 
pound them  while  seated.  Questions  tend  to  stir  up  the 
people.  They  arouse  the  pastor.  He  is  likely  to  say  his 
best  things  in  reply.  Questions  elicit  thought  and  awaken 
interest.  Difficulties  are  started  and  are  resolved.  Objec- 
tions are  stated  and  answered.  Keep  the  meeting,  however, 
from  sinking  into  a  debating  club.  You  are  the  captain. 
Fulfill  vour  office. 


256  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

Ninth.  If,  after  all  this,  there  is  a  want  of  responsiveness, 
and  tlie  meetings  lag  and  languish,  do  not  despair.  Organize 
a  scheme  of  this  kind :  Make  a  number  of  lists,  say  six,  in- 
cluding all  in  your  church  who  can  speak  and  pray  in  public. 
Suppose  there  are  thirty-six  such  persons.  Write  out  the 
thirty-six  names  on  each  list,  but  arrange  them  in  six  divis- 
ions, six  persons  in  each  division  j  the  first  one  as  a  leader,  the 
other  five  as  his  followers.  Let  each  of  these  leaders  be  respon- 
sible, in  turn,  for  one  meeting.  Inform  him  when  his  turn 
comes.  Let  him  that  week  see  the  five  persons  in  his  division, 
and  get  from  every  one  of  them  a  promise  to  be  present  at  the 
meeting,  if  possible,  and  to  pray,  or  speak,  or  give  out  a  hymn  ; 
and  to  do  this  without  hesitating  and  looking  around  to  see 
if  any  other  person  is  about  to  occupy  the  time.  As  soon  as 
the  pastor  has  made  the  meeting  free  to  all,  let  the  leader  of 
that  evening's  division  rise  at  his  seat  and  speak  or  pray,  the 
other  five  to  f  oUow  as  soon  as  they  can.  Such  an  arrangement 
as  this  will  secure  the  action  of  six  persons  in  every  meeting, 
and  will  stimulate  many  others. 

Tenth.  When  the  benediction  is  pronounced,  invite  the 
people  to  linger  and  converse  with  each  other,  and  thus  let 
the  evening  close  with  the  features  of  a  religious  social.  En- 
deavor to  make  Christian  brotherhood  a  reality.  Let  all  stran- 
gers be  met,  welcomed,  and  asked  to  come  again. 

Eleventh.  Such  is  the  framework.  It  must  be  animated  by 
The  Life.  Seek,  ever,  with  intensest  desire  and  sincerest 
prayer,  for  the  presence  and  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  With- 
out him,  death  will  reign ;  with  him,  life  will  triumph.  He  is 
our  teacher,  guide,  and  inspiration. 

Tivelfth.  A  prayer-meeting  so  conducted  and  so  inspired 
will  be  a  school  of  instruction  for  the  intellect.  It  will  be  a 
gate  of  heaven  for  the  soul.  It  will  be  the  heart  of  the 
church,  and  will  send  its  red,  nutritive,  vivifying  blood 
through  all  the  arteries  down  to  the  capillaries  —  a  current 
of  life  that  wiU  reach  and  permeate  the  pew,  the  pulpit,  the 
ordinances  of  the  sanctuary,  and  every  household  in  the  con- 
gregation. 


Ill 

PRAYER-MEETINGS:   HOW  TO  KILL   THEM 
AND  HOW  TO   MAKE   THEM  ALIVE 

XT  is  easy  enough,  too  easy  indeed,  to  kill  a  prayer-meeting. 
I  have  seen  it  done  by  a  small  kitten.  A  lively  bat  or  an 
impulsive  June-bug  can  damage  one  badly.  It  is  not  greatly 
to  the  credit  of  those  who  meet  to  pray  that  their  devotions 
can  be  so  easily  disturbed.  If  our  spiritual  life  were  a  little 
more  vigorous,  our  hold  upon  things  unseen  and  eternal 
would  not  be  shaken  off  by  such  trivial  accidents.  I  speak, 
however,  of  what  is  and  not  of  what  ought  to  bej  and  nothing 
is  plainer  than  that  those  moods  of  mind  which  are  the  condi- 
tions of  a  good  prayer-meeting  are,  with  the  majority  of  wor- 
shipers, somewhat  fitful  and  mutable.  A  study  of  some  of 
the  more  usual  methods  by  which  devotional  feeling  is  shut 
out,  or  banished  from  the  assembly,  may  be  of  service. 

In  the  first  ]Aace,  a  prayer-meeting  may  be  killed  by  holding 
it  an  uncomfortable  room.  If  the  temperature  be  so  low  that 
the  feet  tingle  with  the  cold,  and  the  singers  execute  involun- 
tary trills  as  they  discourse  the  melodies  of  Zion,  it  will  be 
difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  have  an  enjoyable  meeting. 
There  is  not  much  use  in  asking  people  to  sing, 

"Warm  our  hearts  in  prayer  aud  praise, 
Lift  our  every  thought  above," 

when  their  bodies  are  shaking  with  an  ague-chiU,  and,  in  spite 
of  themselves,  their  every  thought  is  chained  to  their  aching 
members.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  room  is  so  warm  and 
the  atmosphere  so  foul  that  the  worshipers  are  stifled  or  stu- 
pefied by  it,  the  same  result  will  follow.  If  men  were  pure 
spirits,  they  might  be  happy  and  devotional  under  such  cir- 
cumstances ;  but  they  have  bodies  as  well  as  spirits,  and  they 
find  it  convenient,  generally,  to  take  theii*  bodies  to  prayer- 
meeting  with  them  ;  and  if  you  contrive  to  make  these  bodies 

17  257 


258  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

of  theirs  thorouglily  nneomfortable,  you  will  be  likely  to 
prevent  them  from  deriving  any  spiritual  profit  from  the 
service. 

Second.  Another  good  way  to  kill  a  prayer-meeting  is  to 
scatter  a  small  congregation  over  a  large  space,  so  that  the 
people  shall  hardly  be  within  hailing  distance  of  one  another, 
or  else  to  huddle  them  together  in  the  back  seats,  while  the 
leader  sits  stranded  on  the  platform  at  the  other  end  of  the 
room,  with  a  waste  expanse  of  empty  pews  between  him 
and  the  assembly.  It  goes  far  to  disturb  the  devotions  of  the 
most  devout  just  to  think  of  the  lonesomeness  and  ludicrous- 
ness  of  the  leader's  position,  perched  away  up  there  behind 
the  pulpit,  and  calling  dolefully  down  across  the  barren 
benches  to  the  distant  worshipers, 

''  Though  sundered  far,  by  faith  we  meet 
Around  one  common  mercy-seat." 

It  may  be  so,  but  it  takes  a  very  strong  faith  to  realize  it.  I 
have  thought  not  a  little  about  the  attraction  which  the  back 
seats  have  for  the  average  prayer-meeting  goer,  and  am  not 
quite  clear  in  mind  about  the  reason  of  it.  The  same  people 
are  affected  quite  differently  when  they  go  to  a  concert  or  a 
lecture ;  and  if,  in  the  distribution  of  seats  in  the  Lord's 
house,  that  one  should  be  assigned  to  them  which  they  always 
choose  in  the  prayer-meeting,  they  would  be  greatly  offended. 
The  fact  seems  to  be  that  in  the  prayer-meeting  there  is  some 
actual  service  required  of  those  who  attend,  and  for  that  rea- 
son there  is  a  disposition  to  skulk  and  hide.  Of  course,  noth- 
ing can  prosper  when  any  such  disposition  as  this  prevails, 
and  the  leader  ought  to  exterminate  it,  even  if  he  have  to  use 
heroic  remedies.  When  it  is  the  custom  to  call  upon  persons 
to  take  part  in  the  meeting,  it  might  be  well  to  make  it  the 
invariable  rule  to  call  first  on  those  who  sit  in  the  back  seats. 
Let  it  be  understood  that  that  is  the  exposed  position.  A 
fire  in  the  rear  sometimes  has  a  stimulating  effect  upon 
stragglers. 

Or,  if  the  people  wiU  settle  down  at  the  rear  of  the  room,  let 
the  leader  follow  them  back.  By  some  means  let  the  assem- 
bly be  made  compact.    If  I  had  a  prayer-room  too  large  for 


PRAYER-MEETINGS  259 

my  prayer-meeting,  and  did  not  want  to  see  the  meeting  put 
to  death,  I  would  insist  that  those  who  came  should  sit 
together ;  and  I  would  carry  my  point,  too,  even  if  it  became 
necessary  to  procure  ropes  and  tie  up  the  ends  of  the  pews 
that  I  did  not  want  occupied,  or  to  have  that  portion  of  the 
room  not  needed  cut  off  by  screens. 

Third.  It  is  well  known  that  long  speeches  and  long  prayers 
are  usually  fatal  to  a  prayer-meeting;  and  to  secure  its  taking 
off  by  this  method,  it  will  be  useful  for  the  leader  to  begin  by 
offering  a  long  prayer,  and  reading  a  long  chapter,  and  mak- 
ing a  long  speech,  and  giving  out  two  long  hymns  and  having 
them  sung  to  slow  tunes.  If  from  twenty  minutes  to  haK  an 
hour  of  the  time  can  be  consumed  in  this  way  by  the  leader, 
the  meeting  will,  as  a  general  thing,  be  in  a  moribund  condi- 
tion by  the  time  he  sits  down.  The  example  which  he  has  set 
is  sure  to  be  followed,  and  in  a  very  short  time  some  unusually 
prolix  brother  will  give  it  its  finishing  stroke. 

Fourth.  Debates  on  doctrinal  subjects,  especially  on  those 
subjects  about  which  nobody  in  the  world  knows  anything, — 
on  questions  purely  philosophical  or  speculative, —  are  also 
very  effectual  in  kilHng  prayer-meetings.  If  you  can  get  up 
a  good  lively  discussion  about  f  oreordination,  or  perseverance, 
or  the  intermediate  state,  or  the  nature  of  the  resurrection 
body,  you  will  put  an  end  to  the  life  of  the  meeting  very  soon. 
That  flame  of  sacred  love  which  burns  flickeringly  at  best  on 
our  altars  of  prayer  is  quickly  put  out  by  a  good,  stiff  breeze 
of  disputation. 

Fifth.  A  free  indulgence  of  criticism  by  those  in  attendance 
upon  the  prayers  or  exhortations  of  those  who  take  part  in  the 
meeting  wiU  in  time  injure  it  mortally.  Let  those  who  are  wont 
to  speak  or  pray  understand  that  it  is  the  habit  of  the  rest  to 
talk  disparagingly  of  their  abilities  or  their  utterances;  let 
their  expressions  be  quoted  and  turned  to  ridicule  ;  let  theii* 
slips  of  grammar  be  noted  and  commented  on  ;  let  their  infe- 
licitous sayings  be  reported;  in  short,  let  it  be  understood, 
or  at  least  suspected,  that  the  exercises  of  the  prayer-room 
are  dealt  with  by  a  large  number  of  those  who  frequent  the 
place  just  as  if  they  were  performances ;  that  they  are  not 
accepted  as  the  sincere  but  faulty  utterances  of  souls  seeking 


260  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

the  truth,  crying  out  in  the  darkness  after  God,  but  are  criti- 
cised by  the  canons  of  rhetoric  and  taste,  and  in  a  very  short 
time  there  will  be  no  vitality  to  speak  of  left  in  the  prayer- 
meeting.  Those  who  listen  in  this  critical  mood  are  not  in 
the  proper  frame  of  mind  to  receive  good,  and  those  who, 
conscious  of  this  critical  atmosphere  that  surrounds  them, 
undertake  to  speak  or  pray,  are  not  apt  to  have  any  good 
thing  to  impart,  and  between  them  the  enjoyment  and  profit 
of  the  meeting  are  destroyed. 

Sixth.  If  none  of  these  means  are  effectual,  there  is  one 
thing  that  never  fails  to  kill.  Turn  the  prayer-room  into  a 
wailing-place.  Take  up  a  good  part  of  every  evening  in  talking 
about  the  coldness  and  the  deadness  of  the  church,  and  lament- 
ing that  so  few  come  up  to  her  solemn  feasts.  Sing  very  fre- 
quently the  familiar  verses : 

"Look  how  we  grovel  here  below, 
Fond  of  these  trifling  toys ; 
Our  souls  can  neither  fly  nor  go 
To  reach  immortal  joys. 

"  In  vain  we  tune  our  formal  songs, 

In  vain  we  strive  to  rise  ;  ' 

Hosannas  languish  on  our  tongues, 
And  our  devotion  dies." 

If  you  will  sing  that,  and  try  to  enter  into  the  spirit  of  it, 
every  Thursday  evening,  your  devotion  will  die  after  a  little. 
It  may  live  for  a  while  at  a  poor  dying  rate  ;  but  if  it  sJiould 
linger,  try  a  little  vigorous  scolding  of  those  who  are  there 
because  others  are  not  there,  and  that  will  quickly  put  it  out 
of  its  misery. 

Such  are  some  of  the  most  approved  methods  of  killing 
prayer-meetings.  I  might  enlarge  upon  this  branch  of  the 
subject,  but  perhaps  it  is  not  necessary. 

How  to  make  a  prayer-meeting  alive  is  a  much  harder  prob- 
lem. In  most  of  our  evangelical  churches  it  has  at  least  a 
name  to  live  ;  very  few  of  them  have  abandoned  it  altogether; 
and  in  a  great  many  —  I  trust  the  large  majority  —  of  them 
the  meeting  is  thoroughly  alive,  and  bringing  forth  good  fruit 
every  year.    It  is  not,  therefore,  the  miracle  of  restoring  a 


PRAYER-MEETINGS  261 

dead  prayer-meeting  to  life  which  we  are  to  discuss,  but 
rather  the  natural  and  rational  methods  of  maintaining  the 
existence  and  increasing  the  vitality  of  those  that  are  already 
alive. 

1.  In  the  first  place,  as  we  have  already  seen,  the  place  in 
which  the  meeting  is  held  has  much  to  with  its  pleasantness 
and  profitableness.  There  are  those  whose  faith  is  so  robust 
that  it  can  defy  untoward  circumstances,  but  it  is  not  so  with 
all ;  and  a  good  prayer-meeting  implies  not  only  the  spiritual 
quickening  of  a  few,  but  the  profiting  of  the  whole  assembly. 
The  room  ought  to  be  warm  in  the  winter,  always  warm  ;  so 
that  the  people  shall  have  no  misgivings  when  the  bell  rings 
as  to  whether  they  shall  suffer  if  they  answer  its  summons. 
It  ought  to  be  well  ventilated  at  all  seasons  of  the  year. 

It  is  quite  possible  to  have  an  excellent  prayer-meeting  in 
an  ordinary  lecture-room  with  fixed  pews ;  but  that  is  not  the 
best  model  of  a  prayer-room.  A  pleasant  parlor,  carpeted, 
with  pictures  on  the  walls,  and  chairs  arranged  in  circles  round 
the  leader,  is  much  better.  What  we  want  to  secui-e  is  free- 
dom and  familiarity,  and  there  is  likely  to  be  less  constraint 
and  less  reserve  in  such  a  room  as  this  than  in  one  where  the 
people  sit  in  straight  rows  on  immovable  benches. 

2.  Who  shall  lead  the  meeting  ?  The  best  man,  whoever  he 
may  be.  The  system  of  rotating  leaders,  which  is  in  vogue  in 
many  churches,  has  some  advantages ;  but  on  the  whole,  I 
think  it  is  not  the  best  system.  The  members  of  a  regiment 
would  not  wisely  take  tiu-ns  in  commanding,  whether  in  camp 
or  on  the  battle-field.  Some  special  gifts  are  required  for  the 
successful  conduct  of  a  prayer-meeting, — gifts  which  are  not 
possessed  by  a  good  many  of  those  who  attend  the  meeting. 
The  discipline  gained  by  those  who  lead  may  be  worth  some- 
thing ;  but  all  the  discipline  in  the  world  will  not  make  some 
of  them  good  leaders,  and  what  slight  benefit  they  gain  from 
the  exercise  is  gained  at  too  great  an  expense  to  their  breth- 
ren. It  is  sometimes  the  case  that  there  are  members  of  the 
church  who  are  quite  as  well  qualified  for  this  sei'\'ice  as  the 
minister ;  if  so,  let  them  be  called  to  perform  it ;  but  never 
spoil  a  meeting  for  the  sake  of  giving  an  incompetent  person 
a  chance  to  exercise  gifts  which  the  Lord  never  gave  him. 


262  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

The  interest  of  the  meeting  greatly  depends  upon  the  leader. 
He  ought  to  be  a  man  of  some  personal  magnetism,  ready  and 
rapid  in  his  mental  movements,  quick  to  seize  a  thought 
which  has  been  left  entangled  in  an  unsuccessful  statement, 
and  set  it  at  liberty  ;  skillful  to  turn  the  talk  of  the  meeting 
into  a  fruitful  channel,  when  it  is  wasting  itself  in  the  sands 
of  unprofitable  discussion  j  prompt  with  a  sentence  of  appli- 
cation to  send  the  arrow  home  which  has  fallen  all  feathered 
from  the  bow  of  another.  Above  all,  he  ought  to  be  a  man  full 
of  faith  and  of  the  Holy  Grhost,  so  that  the  meeting  shall  have, 
through  him,  an  instant  and  constant  impulse  from  on  high. 

His  opening  of  the  meeting  had  better  be  brief.  The  whole 
of  the  introductory  service,  singing,  prayer,  reading  of  the 
Scriptures,  remarks,  may  well  be  brought  within  ten  minutes. 
It  is  not  always  necessary  to  read  a  whole  chapter  ;  the  divis- 
ions of  God^s  Word  into  chapters  and  verses  are  not  inspired, 
and  may  often  be  disregarded  with  great  profit.  There  ought 
to  be  one  theme,  and  only  one,  presented  for  the  consideration 
of  the  meeting;  that  theme  maybe  found  clearly  presented  in 
a  single  verse,  or  a  very  few  verses  selected  from  different 
parts  of  the  Bible.  It  is  better  to  read  only  what  bears  on  the 
subject  in  hand.  The  remarks  which  the  leader  makes,  if  he 
make  any,  ought  to  be  concise  and  pointed.  Perhaps  it  may 
be  as  weU  simply  to  state  the  question,  and  leave  the  rest  to 
unfold  the  truth  about  it.  In  a  few  weU-chosen  words,  let  him 
indicate  the  direction  which  the  thought  of  the  meeting  ought 
to  take,  and  then  give  way. 

AU  stereotyped  methods  of  opening  or  conducting  the  meet- 
ing ought  to  be  avoided.  Begin  sometimes  with  reading, 
sometimes  with  prayer,  sometimes  with  singing ;  speak  some- 
times standing,  and  sometimes,  when  you  have  at  best  a  few 
familiar  words  to  say,  sitting.  Keep  out  of  everything  that 
looks  like  a  rut.  Don't  have  the  same  old  prayer-meeting  every 
time ;  have  a  new  one,  fresh  from  Heaven,  with  a  life  of  its 
own,  a  lesson  of  its  own,  a  character  of  its  own,  every  week. 

It  is  important  that  the  leader  should  be  ready  for  the  meeting. 
Not  only  ought  he  to  have  a  clear  understanding  of  the  topic 
under  discussion,  but  all  his  preparation  ought  to  be  made 
before  he  goes  into  the  room ;  so  that  he  shaU  have  no  Script- 


PRAYER-MEETINGS  263 

ure  or  hymns  to  hunt  up  while  the  congregation  is  waiting, 
so  that  he  shall  go  instantly  from  one  exercise  to  another.  If 
his  pai-t  of  the  meeting  moves  on  in  this  prompt  fashion,  the 
rest  of  it  will  be  more  likely  to  move  in  the  same  way. 

3.  I  have  assumed  that  there  should  always  be  a  theme  of 
prayer  and  remark  announced  beforehand,  either  on  Sunday 
or  at  the  previous  meeting.  It  is  better  that  the  service  should 
have  some  unity  of  purpose  and  impression.  There  is  less 
danger  from  routine,  and  more  likelihood  of  intelligent  and 
profitable  remark,  if  the  topic  be  announced  and  adhered  to. 
Some  wisdom  is  called  for,  however,  in  the  choice  of  subjects. 
It  may  be  well  to  take  from  the  Bible  a  series  of  related  pas- 
sages, such  as  the  parables,  or  the  miracles  of  our  Lord,  or 
the  letters  to  the  seven  churches  5  or,  if  single  topics  are 
selected,  let  them  be  of  a  practical  character, — themes  that 
take  hold  of  the  religious  life  of  the  individual.  Such  plain 
subjects  as  these  we  have  been  talking  about  in  our  prayer- 
meeting  lately :  '^  Repentance,"  "  Conversion,"  '^  Evidences  of 
Conversion ;  or.  How  may  I  know  whether  I  am  a  Christian 
or  not  ? "  '^  Consecration,"  "  The  Conditions  of  Church  Mem- 
bership," ^^The  Benefits  of  Church  Membership."  We  have 
found  no  little  interest  and  profit  in  trying  to  understand  more 
clearly  some  of  these  cardinal  truths  of  practical  religion.  I 
think  we  shall  take  up,  by  and  by,  some  of  these  themes  which 
come  a  little  closer  to  every-day  duty,  such  as  Honesty  in  Trade, 
Evil  Speaking,  Religion  in  the  Family,  Neighborly  Kindness, 
Pride  and  Humility,  Ostentation  and  Simplicity,  Good  and 
Bad  Temper.  We  ministers  preach  about  these  matters  of 
Christian  morality ;  why  should  we  not  encourage  our  people 
to  talk  about  them  in  the  conference  meetings, — to  apply  the 
truth  to  themselves,  and  to  seek  the  grace  of  God  in  overcom- 
ing these  common  faults"?  If  we  ivant  live  prayer-meetings,  we 
must  bring  life  into  our  prayer-meetings, —  make  them  deal 
largely  with  questions  of  Hf e,  with  religion  as  applied  to  life. 
Such  aspects  of  religion  are  fuU  of  interest  to  all  kinds  of 
people ;  and  if  they  can  see  that  the  prayer-meeting  will  help 
them  in  clearing  their  ideas  of  right  and  A\Tong  and  strength- 
ening their  hands  for  the  work  of  life,  they  will  not  need  so 
much  urging  to  attend  it. 


264  THE   PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

4.  Those  who  take  part  in  the  meeting  ought  to  be  made  to 
feel  the  importance  of  bre\ity  and  concentration  of  thought, 
both  in  their  words  of  testimony  and  in  their  prayers.  The 
habit  of  saying  just  one  thing  clearly,  and  stopping  when  that 
is  said,  ought  to  be  cultivated.  Let  each  one  present  a  single 
aspect  of  the  truth,  the  one  which  to  him  seems  most  impor- 
tant, and  leave  something  for  the  rest  to  say.  So  with  prayer. 
Encourage  those  who  pray  to  ask  each  for  that  one  thing 
which  he  wants  most  for  himself  or  for  his  brethren.  ^'  This 
one  thing  I  do,"  said  Paul.  To  do  one  thing  well  is  better 
than  to  do  two  things  by  halves.  To  say  one  thing  clearly  is 
better  than  to  say  a  dozen  things  unintelligibly.  The  concen- 
tration of  the  thought  of  each  person  upon  one  truth,  of  the 
desire  of  each  upon  one  object,  renders  the  thoughts  of  all 
more  clear,  the  desii'es  of  all  more  intense.  The  expressions 
of  such  worshipers  will  be  full  of  vividness  and  directness,  of 
fervor  and  power. 

5.  The  meeting  ought  to  be  so  free  and  so  familiar  that  one 
sitting  in  his  seat  might  ask  a  question  or  drop  a  remark  with- 
out rising.  Sometimes  a  thought  comes  that  could  be  expressed 
in  a  sentence.  It  seems  hardly  worth  while  to  get  up  to  say 
it ;  the  uprising  and  the  downsitting  make  it  sound  affectedly 
sententious.  Yet  it  would  be  spoken  very  naturally  by  one 
sitting  still,  if  that  were  the  usual  practice,  and  might  have  a 
good  deal  more  in  it  than  many  long  speeches. 

I  remember  a  former  parishioner  of  mine,  a  man  of  exceed- 
ing diffidence,  who  never  made  a  speech  in  his  life,  in  prayer- 
meeting  or  anywhere  else,  but  whose  daily  hf  e  and  conversation 
were  both  of  them  with  grace  seasoned  with  salt.  We  had  a 
habit  in  our  prayer-meeting  of  talking  pretty  familiarly  ;  and 
although  he  did  not  often  speals:,  when  he  did  he  usually  said 
something.  One  evening  we  had  the  parable  of  the  great  sup- 
per and  the  wedding  garment,  and  the  fact  came  out  that  the 
master  of  the  feast  furnished  the  guests  with  raiment.  ^'  And 
is  it  not  so  mth  our  Master  ? "  asked  somebody.  "  Does  he 
not  clothe  us  with  the  robe  of  his  righteousness  ?"  "  He  does," 
I  answered.  ^'  But  we  must  put  it  on,  must  n^t  we  ? "  asked 
my  friend.  Eight  words  !  but  nothing  was  left  to  be  said  on 
that  subject. 


PRAYER-MEETINGS  265 

Now,  if  we  can  attain  unto  a  measure  of  freedom  in  our 
prayer-meetings  which  shall  admit  of  such  pithy  questions  and 
observations,  I  am  persuaded  that  their  interest  and  value  would 
be  very  greatly  increased.  Our  Christian  women  might,  in 
such  a  condition  of  things,  open  their  mouths  now  and  then 
greatly  to  the  profiting  of  the  rest  of  us.  One  step  in  this 
direction  is  easily  taken,  and  that  is  the  repetition  of  texts 
of  Scripture  in  the  pauses  of  the  meeting  by  old  and  young, 
male  and  female.  The  subject  is  known  beforehand,  and  those 
who  come  should  be  requested  to  bring  in  their  memory  verses 
of  Scripture  which  illustrate  it,  and  recite  them  as  they  find 
room  for  them  during  the  evening.  Sometimes  these  well- 
chosen  words  will  go  home  to  the  hearts  of  the  hearers  with 
great  power.  Verses  of  hymns,  or  short  and  pertinent  extracts 
from  the  writings  of  good  men,  might  be  repeated  in  the 
same  way  with  profit. 

One  pastor  of  my  acquaintance  sometimes  arranges  the 
theme  of  the  meeting  under  several  heads,  putting  the  sub- 
divisions in  the  form  of  questions,  selecting  answers  to  them 
from  the  Bible,  and  distributing  these  at  the  Sunday-school 
among  tlie  people,  taking  care  to  include  a  good  many  of  the 
children  of  the  church.  Thus,  if  the  general  subject  were  prayer, 
the  first  question  might  be,  ^'  How  do  we  know  that  prayer  is 
a  duty  ? "  And  the  answer,  recited  promptly,  "  He  spake  a 
parable  unto  them,  to  this  end:  that  men  ought  always  to 
pray."  "How  often  should  we  pray?"  "Pray  without 
ceasing."  And  so  on  through  as  many  phases  of  the  subject 
as  he  cares  to  open.  He  tells  me  that  those  to  whom  verses 
are  thus  assigned  rarely  fail  to  come  and  repeat  them ;  and 
thus  not  only  is  their  attendance  assui-ed,  but  they  get  accus- 
tomed to  the  sound  of  their  own  voices  in  the  prayer-meeting. 
His  own  comments  on  the  words  thus  recited  are  brief,  and  he 
reads  no  other  Scripture.  The  subject  of  the  evening  is  thus 
pleasantly  opened,  and  it  is  easy  to  take  it  up  and  go  on  with 
it.  This  calls  for  a  little  work,  but  less,  perhaps,  than  you 
may  suppose  ;  and  no  more,  perhaps,  than  you  must  be  ready 
to  give  if  you  would  reap  any  real  advantage  from  this  ser\4ce. 

I  have  not  spoken  of  the  singing,  but  that  must  be  one 
important  feature  of  the  best  prayer-meeting.     It  is  better  to 


266  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

have  an  instrument  to  lead  it.  That  makes  it  certain  that  the 
tunes  will  be  rightly  pitched  and  encourages  timid  singers  to 
join  theii'  voices  in  the  song  j  and  no  other  instrument  is  so 
good  for  the  prayer- meeting  or  the  Sunday-school  as  the 
piano-forte.  Of  singing-books  it  is  well  to  have,  in  addition 
to  the  one  used  in  the  regular  church  services,  some  collection 
of  what  Mr.  Bacon  calls  spiritual  songs, —  those  lighter  and 
more  graceful  melodies  which  are  now  so  commonly  in  use  in 
the  prayer-room.  The  great  majority  of  our  worshipers, 
especially  the  younger  ones,  prefer  these.  Some  of  them  seem 
almost  puerile  in  their  sentiment ;  but  it  is  better  not  to  be 
too  fastidious  about  such  matters.  A  verse  that  to  you  or  to 
me  may  be  very  faulty  may  to  some  others,  as  good  Christians 
as  we,  be  full  of  refreshment  and  stimulus.  Such  melodies  as, 
"  I  need  Thee  every  hour,"  "  One  more  day's  work  for  Jesus," 
"  He  leadeth  me,''  '^  The  Valley  of  Blessing,"  "  More  love  to 
Thee,  O  Christ,"  "  Whiter  than  snow,"  ''  The  Lord  will  pro- 
vide," are  fuU  of  a  tenderness  and  passion  that  are  not  often 
expressed  in  the  statelier  psalms  and  hymns  of  the  church 
books.  If  you  have  no  collection  of  hymns  specially  adapted 
to  the  prayer-meeting,  resort  to  your  Sunday-school  singing- 
book.  You  will  find,  in  most  of  these,  many  such  familiar 
and  spirited  songs,  which  are  well  adapted  to  the  uses  of  the 
social  meeting.  Indeed,  most  of  the  prayer-meeting  hymnals 
are  largely  made  up  of  selections  from  the  Sunday-school  books. 

The  singing,  and  indeed  all  the  exercises,  should  be  as  nearly 
as  possible  spontaneous.  The  leader  may  suggest  a  hymn 
now  and  then  which  fits  some  sentiment  just  expressed ;  and 
any  member  of  the  meeting  ought  to  be  free  to  make  the  sug- 
gestion or  to  lead  off  in  the  singing  of  a  verse.  Never  take 
time  to  read  a  hymn  in  the  prayer-meeting  unless  there  be 
something  in  it  to  which  you  wish  to  call  special  attention.  It 
is  a  superfluous  formality.  When  books  were  not  plenty,  there 
was  a  reason  for  it :  there  is  none  now. 

If  you  can  preface  the  prayer-meeting  with  a  singing-meet- 
ing, fifteen  minutes  or  haK  an  hour  in  length,  you  may  find 
that  helpful  in  more  ways  than  one.  The  people  may  be 
taught  in  this  way  to  sing  many  of  the  tunes  in  the  church 
hymn-book  with  which  they  are  not  familiar,  and  thus  the  con- 


PRAYER-MEETINGS  267 

gregational  singing  on  the  Lord's  day  may  be  greatly  improved. 
Moreover,  a  brief  season  of  devotional  singing  is  an  excellent 
preparation  for  the  service  that  is  to  follow. 

What  I  have  said  has  had  almost  exclusive  reference  to 
metJiods  of  conducting  the  prayer-meeting.  It  will  not,  how- 
ever, I  trust,  be  inferred  from  what  has  been  said  that  the 
best  methods  in  the  world  will  of  themselves  produce  good 
meetings.  Methods  produce  nothing.  It  is  power  that  pro- 
duces 5  it  is  life  that  builds.  Bad  methods  may  greatly  mar 
the  prayer-meeting,  but  good  methods  will  not  make  it.  What 
is  wanted  most  is  the  increase  of  spiritual  power,  the  invigo- 
ration  of  spiritual  life,  in  those  who  are  called  to  be  saints. 
The  chief  reason  w^hy  prayer-meetings  are  sometimes  duU  is 
that  a  good  many  Christian  people  have  very  little  genuine 
rehgious  experience  to  talk  about.  Their  minds  are  full  of 
other  topics  than  those  with  which  the  prayer-meeting  deals ; 
their  hands  are  full  of  other  labors  than  those  to  which  the 
prayer-meeting  points ;  out  of  the  emptiness  of  their  hearts 
their  mouths  won't  speak ;  or,  if  they  do,  they  utter  inanities. 
The  first  thing  to  be  sought  by  aU  our  churches  is,  therefore, 
the  spii'itual  enlargement  of  all  theii^  members.  Better  pray- 
ing, wiser  talking,  truer  living,  harder  working  will  come  from 
this,  no  doubt. 

Yet  though  an  increase  of  spiritual  life  is  the  first  thing, 
and  though  methods  of  administration,  whether  in  the  prayer- 
meeting  or  the  parish  work,  are  subordinate,  let  nobody  go 
on  and  say  that  they  are  of  no  consequence.  In  the  nutrition 
of  oui^  bodies  it  is,  of  course,  of  the  first  importance  that  we 
should  have  food  to  eat ;  })ut  our  health  and  comfort  depend 
in  no  small  degree  upon  the  way  in  which  it  is  prepared. 
"  First  catch  your  hare  " —  oh,  of  course  ;  but  is  it  not  then 
worth  while  to  know  how  to  cook  it  ? 

Patriotism  and  courage  are  the  prime  qualities  of  a  soldier : 
are  drill  and  discipline,  then,  of  no  account  in  an  army  ? 

Power  is  the  first  requisite  in  the  mechanical  industries: 
but  are  not  the  contrivances  by  which  power  is  applied  of 
some  importance  ? 

Life  in  the  seed,  sunshine  and  rain  from  the  sky,  fertility  in 
the  soil, —  these  are  the  conditions  of  a  good  crop  of  corn :  is  it 


268  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

necessary,  then,  for  the  farmer  to  know  nothing  of  the  meth- 
ods of  cultivating  corn  ? 

In  our  Christian  work  we  must  not  suppose  that  machinery 
will  generate  power,  or  that  by  any  arts  of  culture  we  can 
bring  dead  souls  to  life  j  but,  on  the  other  hand,  we  must  not 
despise  instrumentalities.  We  speak  of  means  of  grace. 
Well,  if  grace  comes  through  means,  mediums,  mediations, 
there  are  some,  doubtless,  that  are  better  than  others;  it  is 
our  business  to  get  the  best,  and  use  them  faithfully.  There 
is  a  divine  life,  but  there  is  also  a  divine  art  by  which  the  life 
finds  expression.  If  we  are  wise  workmen  we  shaU  know 
something  of  that. 


IV 
FELLOWSHIP  MEETINGS 

FELLOWSHIP  amoDg  the  churclies  is  greatly  to  be 
desired,  and  much  is  done  to  promote  it ;  but  fellow- 
ship in  the  churches  is  also  a  good  thing  to  which  some 
thought  and  care  may  well  be  given.  It  is  true  that  many  of 
the  social  meetings  of  the  church — its  conference  and  prayer 
meetings,  its  sociables,  and  all  such  assemblies — are  calculated 
to  awaken  and  cherish  fraternal  feelings;  but  these  assemblies 
are  for  the  w^hole  congregation,  and  there  is  need  of  an  occa- 
sional meeting,  partly  religious  and  partly  social,  to  which  none 
but  members  of  the  church  shall  be  invited,  and  which  shaU  be 
whoUy  devoted  to  strengthening  the  tie  that  binds  the  believ- 
ers into  one  household  of  faith  and  one  brotherhood  of  love. 

Such  a  meeting  may  well  be  held  on  the  Monday  evening 
following  every  communion,  that  there  may  be  opportunity 
for  the  members  of  the  church  to  meet  any  who  may  have 
been  received  into  the  church  on  the  preceding  day.  It  is 
often  the  case  that  members  thusreceived  have  no  early  oppor- 
tunity of  making  the  acquaintance  of  those  with  whom  they 
enter  into  covenant ;  and  the  solemn  words  that  are  spoken 
by  both  parties  to  this  covenant  appear  to  be  nothing  better 
than  mockery,  unless  some  way  is  provided  by  which  the 
friendship  thus  promised  may  have  a  chance  to  begin  its  life 
in  a  mutual  acquaintance.  In  some  churches  the  pastor,  on 
behalf  of  the  church,  extends  to  the  candidates  the  right  hand 
of  fellowship  ;  but  it  is  well  if  the  members  are  permitted  to 
express  their  greetings  in  their  own  way. 

If  it  be  found  inexpedient  to  devote  a  whole  evening  to  this 
purpose,  it  may  be  practicable  to  give  to  it  half  of  the  hour  of 
the  midweek  service  in  the  week  following  the  Sacrament. 
But  if  the  church  can  be  brought  to  consider  the  matter,  it 
will  not  grudge  a  whole  evening,  once  in  two  months,  for  the 
cementing  of  its  own  unity ;  for  the  more  perfect  realization 
of  that  communion  of  saints  which  its  creed  so  clearly  affirms, 
but  which  its  practice  so  imperfectly  illustrates. 

269 


270  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

The  conduct  of  this  meeting  should  be  altogether  informal. 
It  will  be  well  to  spend  a  little  time  in  song  and  prayer  at  the 
beginning ;  and  if  there  are  members  of  the  church  who  can 
be  trusted  to  speak  judiciously  and  heartily  and  briefly  of  the 
friendships  which  the  church  fosters  and  consecrates,  of  the 
benefits  and  joys  of  Christian  fraternity,  a  few  words  from 
them  may  be  helpful  and  welcome.  If  the  work  of  corre- 
spondence with  absent  members  has  been  organized,  according 
to  the  suggestion  in  a  previous  chapter,  this  will  be  the  time 
for  the  reading  of  extracts  from  letters  that  have  been  received 
from  them.  The  list  of  absent  members  should  also  be  read 
for  correction  j  and  if  a  prayer  for  their  welfare  should  follow 
the  reading,  or  a  verse  of  a  hymn,  celebrating  the  sacredness 
and  strength  of  Christian  love,  should  be  sung,  the  meaning  of 
this  relation  might  be  more  deeply  impressed  upon  many  minds. 

Then  an  opportunity  should  be  offered  for  conversation. 
This  intercourse  of  the  fellowship  meeting  will  naturally  be 
somewhat  less  hilarious  than  that  of  the  sociable ;  the  voices  will 
be  keyed  to  a  lower  pitch ;  the  talk  wiU  be  in  a  gentler  strain ; 
but  it  ought  to  be  cordial  and  unreserved.  No  introduction 
should  be  required  or  tolerated ;  people  who  have  said  to  each 
other  what  all  these  have  said  before  the  communion-table  do 
not  require  the  formality  of  an  introduction.  If  you  do  not 
happen  to  know  your  brother's  name,  ask  him,  and  no  one  else, 
to  tell  you  what  it  is.  Let  every  one  speak  first  to  those  whom 
he  does  not  know,  if  any  such  there  be,  and  then  to  those  with 
whom  he  is  least  intimately  acquainted ;  let  him  reserve  his 
intercourse  with  familiar  friends  for  other  occasions.  The 
themes  of  conversation  cannot  be  prescribed ;  but  the  natural 
drift  of  the  talk  in  such  a  meeting  would  be,  it  would  seem, 
toward  the  more  serious  topics  5  toward  the  life  and  the  work 
which  the  church  is  seeking  to  promote.  After  half  an  hour 
spent  in  these  familiar  greetings  and  communings,  the  assem- 
bly may  again  be  called  to  order,  and  with  a  few  words  of 
prayer  and  song  may  be  dismissed. 

Such  a  meeting  will  be  of  no  profit — it  will  be  positively 
mischievous — unless  there  be  in  the  church  a  genuine  and 
hearty  fellowship  which  seeks  expression.  To  call  together 
people  who  really  care  very  little  for  one  another,  who  do 
not  prize  the  friendships   into  which  the  church  introduces 


FELLOWSHIP    MEETINGS  271 

them,  who  are  haughty  or  supercilious  or  indifferent  toward 
their  fellow-members  in  the  church,  and  to  turn  them  loose 
upon  one  another  in  the  fashion  here  suggested,  would  result 
in  nothing  but  injury.  Doubtless  there  are  such  people  in  all 
our  churches.  Perhaps  there  are  many  chui'ches  in  which  the 
number  of  these  is  so  large  that  no  such  method  as  I  have 
outlined  could  be  profitably  introduced.  But  it  is  certainly 
true  of  most  of  our  churches  that  there  is  no  lack  of  a  real 
friendship ;  the  only  failure  is  in  a  proper  expression  of  the 
brotherly  interest  and  good-will  that  are  in  the  hearts  of  the 
multitude.  How  often  a  better  acquaintance  shows  us  tender 
sympathy  and  self-denying  generosity  where  we  had  thought 
were  nothing  but  indifference  and  exclusiveness.  The  great 
majority  of  our  reputable  neighbors  are  far  kinder  than  we 
tliink  them ;  the  lack  which  we  deplore  is  not  in  the  feeling  so 
much  as  in  its  expression.  In  the  church,  more  than  any- 
where else,  this  is  true.  Our  modern  life,  in  our  cities  and 
large  towns,  is  so  intense  that  the  opportunities  are  few  for 
the  cultivation  of  friendships  beyond  a  very  narrow  cii'cle. 
And  if  some  simple  ways  can  be  devised  in  which  the  people 
of  the  churches  can  be  brought  together  and  encouraged  to 
express  their  sympathies  and  their  good  wishes,  great  benefits 
will  result — to  those  who  give  as  well  as  to  those  who  receive 
these  overtures  of  kindness. 

It  is  weU.  to  have  a  short  fellowship  meeting  at  the  end  of 
every  midweek  service.  The  people  should  be  encouraged  to 
tarry  for  ten  minutes  or  so  after  the  close  of  this  service,  for 
handshaking  and  the  interchange  of  friendly  words.  The 
more  opportunities  of  this  sort  they  enjoy,  the  less  likely  are 
they  to  indulge  in  bickerings  and  jealousies.  One  of  the 
deepest  needs  of  aU  oiu*  large  churches  is  ''  a  more  perfect 
union " :  it  is  needed  to  consolidate  the  church  for  work ;  it 
is  needed  to  develop  and  express  those  Christian  sentiments 
of  good- will  which  are  the  only  enduring  cement  of  society  in 
these  turbulent  and  ominous  times.  Assemblies  of  this  nature, 
which  are  intended  to  bring  all  the  members  of  the  church, 
rich  and  poor,  old  and  young,  together  on  an  equal  footing,  and 
to  cultivate  and  manifest  a  genuine  Christian  brotherhood, 
have  an  influence  that  reaches  far  beyond  the  confines  of  the 
church. 


V 
A  CHURCH  SOCIABLE 

GOOD  Christians  are  all  anxiously  inquiring  nowadays 
liow  the  churches  of  Christ  are  to  be  united.  A  more 
urgent  question,  and  one  that  logically  has  the  precedence,  is 
this:  How  are  the  members  of  our  churches  to  be  brought 
into  a  close  and  endearing  fellowship !  Until  the  individual 
chui^ches  are  compacted  into  real  unity,  it  is  hardly  worth 
while  to  expend  much  labor  in  trying  to  bring  them  together. 
Let  us  have  cohesion  first,  then  gravitation.  If  there  is  unity 
in  the  churches,  there  will  soon  be  union  hetween  the  churches. 

Now,  it  is  quite  evident  that  the  first  condition  of  unity  in 
the  church  is  acquaintance.  We  are  commanded  to  love  one 
another ;  but  how  shall  we  love  one  another  unless  we  know 
one  another  I 

It  is  a  notorious  and  discreditable  fact  that  the  members  of 
our  churches  do  not,  commonly,  know  one  another.  In  some 
of  the  smaller  churches  in  country  places  acquaintance  is  more 
general ;  but  in  the  cities  and  the  larger  towns  it  is  the  excep- 
tion and  not  the  rule  among  church-members.  Those  who 
for  years  have  worshiped  in  the  same  sanctuary,  and  have 
together  partaken  of  that  broken  bread  which  symbolizes 
the  "  communion  of  the  body  of  Christ,"  pass  each  other  daily 
in  the  street  without  recognition.  The  solemn  covenant  of 
mutual  help  and  sympathy  which  was  made  by  so  many  of 
them  on  the  day  when  they  entered  into  fellowship  with  tne 
chiu'ch  is  thus  broken  daily. 

Various  expedients  have  been  devised  to  remedy  this  gen- 
eral lack  of  Christian  intercourse.  The  most  common  is  that 
of  the  sewing  circle  or  benevolent  society,  meeting  in  the 
houses  of  parishioners,  to  which  the  ladies  go  in  the  afternoon 
and  the  gentlemen  in  the  evening.  But  this  does  not,  in  many 
cases,  accomplish  the  desired  result.  Although  the  whole 
congregation  is  invited  from  the  pulpit,  but  a  very  small  por- 
tion will  go  to  a  private  house  without  a  special  invitation 

272 


A    CHURCH    SOCIABLE  273 

from  the  lady  of  the  house.  These  assemblies  are  necessarily 
held  in  the  parlors  of  the  wealthier  persons  in  the  congrega- 
tion, and  those  living  in  smaller  houses  are  sometimes  disin- 
clined to  accept  hospitalities  for  which  they  can  make  no 
return. 

The  good  people  of  a  certain  parish  of  our  acquaintance 
have  hit  upon  a  solution  of  this  social  problem,  which  is  not 
altogether  original  and  which  is  probably  no  better  than  many 
others ;  but  it  seems  to  answer  a  good  pui'pose,  and  others 
may  be  interested  in  knowing  what  it  is. 

It  is  called  the  monthly  sociable.  It  is  hdd  on  the  second 
Wednesday  evening  of  each  month,  in  the  chapel,  which,  by 
the  way,  is  admirably  adapted  to  such  uses.  It  is  a  large,  airy 
room,  with  open  roof,  the  walls  being  decorated  with  pictures, 
illuminated  texts,  and  brackets,  whereon  vases  of  flowers  are 
placed.  At  the  rear  of  the  chapel  is  the  kitchen,  containing 
the  cooking-stove  and  the  table-ware  for  the  sociable.  Two 
tables,  each  about  forty  feet  in  length,  divided  into  sections, 
and  resting  upon  wooden  horses,  are  stowed  away  in  one  of 
the  sexton^s  rooms.  On  the  day  of  the  sociable  the  sexton 
removes  all  the  settees,  leaving  only  enough  to  siuTound  the 
tables,  and  one  row,  the  backs  of  which  are  placed  against  the 
wall,  on  either  side  of  the  chapel.  There  is  an  alphabetical 
list  of  all  the  ladies  of  the  congregation,  married  and  unmar- 
ried, and  of  the  unmarried  gentlemen ;  and  to  a  dozen  or  more 
of  the  persons  on  this  list  in  their  order  is  assigned  the  task 
of  providing  the  entertainment.  This  is  a  supper  of  a  very 
simple  sort,  consisting  of  tea  and  coffee,  sandwiches,  or  bread 
and  butter,  plain  cake,  and  very  little  in  the  way  of  relishes  or 
confections.  The  tables  are  spread  early  in  the  evening,  and 
the  members  of  the  congregation  are  expected  to  eat  their 
supper  in  the  chapel.  When  the  feast  is  prepared,  the  tables 
are  surrounded,  and  thanks  are  given  in  the  good  old  English 
fashion  by  singing  "  Praise  God,  from  whom  all  blessings  flow.'' 
About  one  hundred  can  be  seated  at  the  tables,  and  they  ai-e 
usually  twice  filled.  As  soon  as  the  supper  is  ended,  the  peo- 
ple are  called  to  order  and  remain  quiet  —  that  is  insisted 
on  —  while  two  or  three  good  songs  are  sung,  or  some  poem  is 
read.  This  part  of  the  exercises  is  always  brief,  however  — 
18 


274  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

the  music  and  the  readings  never  lasting  more  than  twenty  or 
twenty-five  minutes.  The  rest  of  the  evening  is  devoted  to 
conversation.  It  is  distinctly  understood  that  no  introduc- 
tions are  needed  at  this  sociable.  People  who  do  not  wish  to 
extend  their  acquaintance  are  requested  to  stay  away ;  and 
those  who  come  may  dispense  with  the  formality  of  an  intro- 
duction, and  make  themselves  known  to  each  other  in  the 
most  dii^ect  manner  possible.  It  is  also  one  of  the  cardinal 
rules,  that  persons  who  come  should  not  spend  this  social 
hour  in  conversation  with  their  every-day  friends  and  cronies  j 
but  that  this  meeting  is  designed  to  give  them  an  opportunity 
of  becoming  acquainted  with  strangers,  and  of  gaining  a  httle 
knowledge  of  those  whom  they  know  but  slightly.  There  is 
no  lack  of  hearty  sociability  in  this  gathering,  and  when  the 
people  disperse,  about  ten  o'clock,  it  is  common  to  hear  them 
say,  ^'  This  is  the  best  sociable  of  the  series." 

This  method  of  promoting  acquaintance  among  church- 
members  involves  considerable  labor  and  some  expense,  but 
the  results  abundantly  reward  both  pastor  and  people  for  the 
outlay.  It  is  pleasant  to  see  the  zest  and  good-feehng  with 
which  aU  classes  of  the  people  enter  into  this  work.  In  mak- 
ing out  the  List  it  was  thought  by  some  that  the  names  of  a 
few  of  the  poorer  people  in  the  congregation  might  better  be 
omitted,  as  they  would  find  it  difficult  to  contribute  to  the 
entertainment ;  but  it  was  decided  to  make  no  exceptions,  and 
the  wisdom  of  this  decision  has  been  proved.  These  poor  peo- 
ple have  shown  that  this  privilege  of  helping  according  to  the 
measure  of  their  ability  in  this  good  work  is  one  of  which 
they  would  not  willingly  be  deprived.  Not  only  has  there 
been  no  unwillingness,  there  has  been  a  joyful  readiness  to  do 
what  they  could.  Those  persons  whose  turn  it  is  to  pro\ide 
the  entertainment  are  commonly  notified  by  the  pastor  and 
his  wife,  and  this  has  always  been  a  pleasant  task. 

The  benefits  of  this  sociable  cannot  be  exaggerated.  By 
means  of  it  the  church  is  being  steadily  compacted,  feuds  and 
jealousies  are  banished  or  greatly  mitigated,  and  a  basis 
seems  to  be  preparing  for  a  genuine  Christian  brotherhood. 

This  may  not  be  the  best  possible  method  of  reaching  the 
end  proposed,  but  it  seems  to  answer  very  well.     The  supper 


A    CHURCH    SOCIABLE  275 

is  an  interesting,  perhaps  almost  an  essential  feature.  ^'  The 
cup  that  cheers  but  not  inebriates "  is  a  great  promoter  of 
sociability.  People  who  have  eaten  bread  together  cannot 
treat  each  other  with  coolness  and  reserve.  The  music  and 
the  readings  give  a  little  flavor  of  a  higher  sort  to  the  feast, 
and  furnish  an  attraction  to  some  who  would  not  come  for 
the  bread  and  butter.  Holding  it  in  the  chapel  makes  the 
people  feel  that  they  all  have  a  right  to  it ;  and  the  Scripture 
is  fulfilled  which  saith,  '^  The  rich  and  the  poor  meet  together ; 
the  Lord  is  the  maker  of  them  all." 

To  one  other  precaution  this  sociable  owes  part  of  its  suc- 
cess. Its  managers  have  carefully  avoided  attaching  to  it  any 
financial  schemes.  The  tables  of  the  money-changers  have 
never  been  set  up  at  this  feast.  It  is  not  a  trap  to  catch  cop- 
pers. Subscription  papers,  and  mite  contributions,  and  all 
that  sort,  are  well  enough  in  their  way ;  but  it  is  a  weU-ascer- 
tained  fact  that  they  do  not  encourage  sociability.  And,  in 
order  that  such  a  social  gathering  may  be  a  perfect  success,  it 
is  necessary  that  the  people  should  understand  that  there  is  no 
mercenary  design  in  it. 


VI 

THE  ANNUAL  CHURCH  MEETING 

MOST  cliurches  have  a  yearly  meeting  of  their  members 
for  the  transaction  of  important  business.  When  the 
"church"  and  the  "society'^  are  separately  organized,  the 
meeting  of  the  latter  is  devoted  to  the  consideration  of  the 
finances  of  the  church,  and  the  meeting  of  the  former  to  its 
spiritual  work  and  its  benevolent  enterprises.  When  the  church 
is  itself  the  financial  corporation,  both  classes  of  topics  are 
likely  to  come  before  the  annual  meeting.  It  is  better  that 
they  should  be  separated,  and  that  one  evening  every  year 
should  be  given  to  an  annual  review  of  the  work  of  the  church 
as  a  spiritual  body,  and  to  a  careful  consideration  of  its  gains 
and  its  losses,  of  its  present  condition,  and  its  outlook  upon 
the  future. 

In  the  churches  of  the  Congregational,  Baptist,  Lutheran, 
and  Universalist  communions,  in  aU  churches  congregation- 
ally  governed,  this  meeting  is  a  necessary  part  of  the  sys- 
tem; and  in  the  churches  whose  polity  is  episcopal,  as  weU 
as  in  those  presbyterially  governed,  some  such  convocation 
is  almost  equally  important. 

The  meeting  at  which  the  financial  condition  of  the  church 
is  considered  deserves  far  more  attention  than  it  generally 
receives ;  but  I  am  now  concerned  with  the  meeting  devoted 
to  the  religious  organization. 

It  is  evident  that  this  annual  meeting  ought  to  be  a  con- 
spicuous event  in  the  yearly  histor^^  of  the  church ;  that  it 
ought  to  call  out  a  general  attendance  of  the  membership,  and 
awaken  the  interest  of  the  whole  congregation.  Reports  of 
what  the  church  has  done  during  the  year  and  plans  for  the 
coming  year  are  likely  to  be  presented ;  and  it  is  of  great 
importance  that  every  member  of  the  church  should  know 
what  the  church  has  been  doing,  and  what  it  proposes  to  do. 
In  some  of  these  meetings,  ofiicers  of  the  church  are  to  be 
chosen  —  those  who  are  to  be  the  leaders  in  its  Christian  work; 

276 


THE    ANNUAL    CHURCH   MEETING  277 

and  the  members  of  the  church  should  be  interested  in  secur- 
ing capable  and  efficient  leaders.  The  reasons  for  a  large 
attendance  and  a  general  interest  in  meetings  of  this  nature 
are  many  and  obvious. 

What  is  the  fact  respecting  them  ?  Is  it  not  generally  true 
that  scarcely  a  tithe  of  the  membership  ever  attends  these 
meetings ;  that  out  of  five  hundred  communicants  the  pres- 
ence of  fifty  at  the  animal  meeting  of  the  chui'ch  would  be 
regarded  as  a  sign  of  unusual  interest  ?  And  is  it  not  evident 
that,  by  such  an  inadequate  use  of  an  occasion  so  promising, 
the  churches  must  lose  heavily  ? 

The  fact  that  so  few  of  the  members  of  the  church  show 
any  interest  in  the  progress  of  its  work  is  itself  a  great  dis- 
couragement to  those  who  are  trying  to  carry  it  forward.  It 
seems  hardly  worth  while  to  project  any  new  enterprises  when 
there  are  so  few  who  care  to  know  what  is  the  success  of  the 
past,  and  what  are  the  prospects  of  the  future.  The  conse- 
quence is  that  few  attempts  are  made  to  get  out  of  the  old 
routine ;  the  church  contents  itself  with  going  through  the 
conventional  motions,  with  holding  the  "  usual"  services,  and 
with  recording  the  usual  gains,  which  are  always  meager.  It 
is  not  to  be  supposed  that  a  more  general  attendance  upon  the 
annual  meeting  would  be  sufficient  of  itself  to  arouse  the 
church  to  a  more  enterprising  activity,  but  it  might  help  con- 
siderably in  that  direction.  Certainly  it  would  give  the  leaders 
new  spirit  and  motive,  and  it  might  stimulate  them  to  devise 
new  methods  of  work.  It  is  quite  possible,  too,  that  when  the 
reports  of  the  labors  of  the  past  year  were  read,  the  multitude 
who  had  taken  no  part  in  them  would  be  stirred  up  to  enlist 
for  active  service. 

The  question  what  can  be  done  to  secure  a  more  general  inter- 
est in  the  annual  meetings  of  the  church  is,  therefore,  weU 
worth  considering.  Various  devices  have  been  tried.  Some 
of  the  churches  provide  a  free  supper  on  the  evening  of  the 
annual  meeting,  and  contrive  to  entice  the  indifferent  through 
an  appeal  to  their  appetite.  But  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  the 
amount  of  work  that  ought  to  be  done  at  such  a  meeting  can 
weU  be  combined  with  any  elaborate  festivities.  The  notion 
of  an  annual  supper,  for  the  members  of  the  church  exclu- 


278  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

sively,  is  not  a  bad  one ;  but  it  is  not  clear  that  the  time  for 
such  a  social  reunion  is  the  annual  business  meeting.  My  own 
feeling  is  that  the  effect  of  such  a  meeting  will  be  far  better 
if  those  who  attend  come  with  the  understanding  that  it  means 
business ;  that  it  offers  no  baits  nor  bribes ;  that  the  reason 
for  their  presence  is  not  the  promise  of  something  good  to  eat, 
but  the  recognition  of  their  covenant  obligation  to  the  church 
and  a  purpose  to  fulfill  that  obligation.  We  are  in  the  habit 
of  appealing  far  too  frequently  to  the  lower  motives  in  our 
Christian  work ;  the  more  strenuous  call  of  duty  has  a  force 
in  it  of  which  we  do  not  make  enough. 

It  would  be  well,  then,  if  the  minister  should  take  occasion 
to  speak  from  the  pulpit,  several  weeks  beforehand,  of  the 
coming  of  the  annual  meeting ;  and  to  speak  about  it  with  an 
emphasis  that  should  leave  no  doubt  in  the  minds  of  his  hear- 
ers. He  should  tell  them  that  attendance  upon  this  meeting 
is  expected  of  every  member  of  the  church  who  is  not  help- 
lessly ill  or  absent  from  the  city,  and  that  every  member  should 
make  his  arrangements  to  be  in  the  city  on  that  evening; 
that  every  business  engagement  and  every  social  engagement 
should  bend  to  this;  that  no  excuses  for  absence  will  be 
deemed  valid  but  those  which  spring  from  hindrances  strictly 
providential ;  that  this  is  the  one  meeting  of  the  year  from 
which  no  member  of  the  church  should  be  absent.  He  should 
say  to  them,  also,  that  it  will  be  quite  worth  their  while  to  be 
present,  since  a  full  history  of  the  work  of  the  church  for  the 
past  year  will  be  presented  in  carefully  written  reports,  and 
that  the  work  for  the  coming  year  will  be  outlined  and  dis- 
cussed. He  should  take  pains  to  make  upon  his  people  the 
impression  that  this  annual  meeting  will  not  be  merely  a  dry 
routine  of  formalities,  but  that  it  will  have  a  fresh  and  inter- 
esting story  to  tell  of  the  actual  life  and  work  of  the  church ; 
a  story  that  every  member  of  the  church  is  concerned  to  hear. 
This  announcement  should  be  emphatically  repeated  at  every 
succeeding  service  of  the  church  before  the  day  of  the  annual 
meeting. 

Then  let  the  pastor  see  to  it  that  thorough  preparation  be 
made  for  the  meeting ;  and  that  all  the  departments  of  church 
work  be  presented  in  written  reports.  Oral  reports  should  be 
strictly  ruled  out ;  they  are  almost  always  diffuse  and  inexact. 


THE  ANNUAL  CHURCH  MEETING       279 

The  clerk  should  have  his  statement  ready  of  the  gains  and 
losses  in  membership ;  of  the  growth  of  the  church  during  the 
year,  as  compared  with  previous  years  ;  of  the  names  of  all  per- 
sons received  to  membership  during  the  year ;  with  the  names 
also  of  those  who  have  died  or  removed  from  the  city,  and 
of  children  baptized.  The  treasurer  should  have  a  clear 
account  of  the  benevolent  contributions  of  the  church  during 
the  year,  comparing  them  also  with  the  offerings  of  former 
years.  The  Sunday-school  superintendent  should  be  ready 
with  a  report  of  the  condition  and  progress  of  the  school,  with 
the  record,  also,  of  its  benevolent  collections,  and  the  purposes 
to  which  the  gifts  of  the  children  have  been  devoted,  and  with 
such  suggestions  respecting  the  improvement  of  the  school  as 
a  wide-awake  superintendent  ought  to  be  able  to  make.  The 
superintendent  of  the  missions,  if  there  be  any,  under  the  care 
of  the  church,  should  be  present  with  similar  reports.  The 
Ladies'  Benevolent  Society,  the  Literary  Club,  the  Young 
Men's  Union,  the  Young  Ladies'  Guild,  the  Women's  Mission- 
ary Society,  the  Mission  Bands,  every  organization  within  the 
church  that  is  helping  in  any  way  to  promote  its  religious 
work  or  its  philanthropic  activity,  or  its  social  life,  should  be 
represented  by  clearly  wi'itten  and  condensed  reports  of  the 
work  of  the  year,  with  such  hints  and  requests  respecting  the 
future  as  it  may  seem  good  to  the  officers  of  these  organizations 
to  present. 

All  these  should  be  followed  by  the  pastor's  report,  sum- 
ming them  up,  adding  his  own  comments,  and  presenting, 
from  his  own  point  of  view,  the  existing  condition  and  needs 
of  the  church,  with  suggestions  as  to  future  work.  Most  of 
the  reports  of  departments  will  be  brief ;  not  more  than  three 
or  four  minutes  each  will  be  required  for  the  reading  of  them; 
the  reports  of  the  Sunday-school  superintendent  and  of  the 
mission  superintendent  should  take  a  little  longer  time ;  but 
the  pastor's  report  should  be  a  comprehensive,  well-digested 
resume  of  the  current  history  of  the  church,  as  generous  in  its 
recognition  of  the  good  work  done  as  it  can  truthfully  be,  as 
hopeful  of  the  future  as  it  can  wisely  be,  yet  tenderly  faithful 
in  pointing  out  the  shortcomings  of  the  church,  without  a 
scolding  accent  in  a  single  sentence,  and  as  full  of  spii'itual 
earnestness  as  his  best  sermons.    It  is  a  great  opportunity  for 


280  THE  PEOPLE  AT  WORK 

a  pastor.    No  better  chance  of  putting  in  his  work  where  it  will 
do  the  most  good  will  come  to  him  in  the  course  of  the  year. 

All  these  reports  should  be  received  and  recorded  in  a  book 
kept  for  the  purpose.  The  clerk  may  be  too  busy  to  transcribe 
them  all;  but  it  will  not  be  difficult  to  find  some  young  lady  in 
the  church  who  has  leisure,  who  writes  legibly,  and  who  will 
undertake  this  task.  An  appeal  for  such  a  service  at  the 
annual  meeting  will  be  answered  by  volunteers.  A  record  book 
of  this  description,  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  record  of  the 
clerk,  will  be  of  the  greatest  value.  The  history  of  the  church 
is  here  fully  written  outj  future  pastors  will  find  it  full  of 
suggestions ;  generations  to  come  will  be  deeply  interested  in 
the  picture  which  it  presents  of  the  life  of  this  time.  I  know 
a  church  which  adds  every  year  about  thirty  closely  written 
pages  of  a  large  record  book  to  its  current  history. 

If  there  are  officers  to  be  elected,  some  consultation  before 
the  meeting  will  generally  facilitate  this  operation,  so  that  the 
choice  of  officers  can  be  expeditiously  and  wisely  made. 

It  is  evident  that  not  much  time  can  be  given  to  discussion 
at  this  meeting ;  but  in  churches  congregationally  governed 
the  questions  arising  out  of  these  reports,  and  the  recommen- 
dations made  by  the  pastors  and  other  officers,  can  come  up 
for  discussion  and  action  in  subsequent  meetings  of  the 
church,  if  time  should  not  be  found  for  deliberation  at  the 
annual  meeting.  With  a  chaii'man  who  can  expedite  business, 
a  programme  such  as  I  have  sketched  can  be  finished  in  an  hour 
and  a  half,  or  two  hours  at  the  longest.  And  nobody  will  be 
likely  to  complain  that  the  meeting  is  tiresome. 

These  suggestions  respecting  the  best  methods  for  improv- 
ing the  annual  meeting  of  the  church  are  offered  with  some 
confidence  in  their  practicability.  They  have  been  pretty 
thoroughly  tried,  and  have  been  found  to  work  well.  If  the 
pastor  is  himself  in  earnest  about  the  matter;  if  he  lays 
the  matter  upon  the  conscience  of  his  people ;  and  if  he  sees 
to  it  that  the  meeting  is  made  what  it  ought  to  be, —  a  fresh, 
clear,  vital  expression  of  the  life  of  the  church, —  the  attend- 
ance will  be  pretty  sure  to  be  greatly  increased,  and  the  an- 
nual meeting,  instead  of  being  what  it  often  is,  an  occasion  of 
humiliation  and  discouragement,  wiU  be  the  best  attended 
and  the  most  enthusiastic  meeting  of  the  year. 


VII 
WOMAN'S  WORK  IN  THE  LOCAL  CHURCH 

WOMAN'S  work  in  the  local  churcli  depends  on  the  loca- 
tion of  the  church.  But  even  this  statement  must  be 
modified.  The  theory  of  the  church  has  much  to  do  in  deter- 
mining the  answer  to  our  question.  If  its  mission  is  accom- 
plished when  the  preaching  and  worship  of  the  Sabbath  are 
over,  the  chief  duty  of  woman  is  to  be  a  good  listener.  Men 
usually  pay  the  bills.  Unless  she  be  unmarried  she  wiU  not 
expect,  or  be  expected,  to  contribute  to  benevolences.  But 
that  is  a  narrow  conception  of  the  office  of  a  local  church. 
Where  the  emphasis  is  on  the  service,  on  forms,  where  all 
things  are  planned  to  please  and  "satisfy  every  taste,''  the 
duty  of  women  as  well  as  men  will  appear  to  be  very  different 
from  what  it  is  where  the  emphasis  is  on  beneficent  action. 
The  ideal,  and  the  location,  are  important  factors  in  our 
problem.  Woman's  work  in  John  HaU's  church,  in  Fifth 
Avenue,  is  not  the  same  as  in  John  Dooley's,  in  Broome  street. 
It  will  be  different  in  the  country  from  what  it  is  in  an  urban 
or  suburban  community.  There  are  not  the  same  opportuni- 
ties of  labor  in  suburban  towns,  or  in  rural  cities,  as  force 
themselves  on  the  attention  of  those  whose  homes  are  in  New 
York,  Boston,  or  Chicago.  The  function  of  each  church  is 
necessarily  more  or  less  modified  by  its  environment. 

The  social  life  of  a  community  is  usually  in  the  hands  of 
women.  They  determine  what  shall  be  done  in  society.  It  is 
the  duty  of  Christian  women,  therefore,  so  to  direct  and  con- 
trol society  that  it  shall  not  interfere  with,  but  minister  to, 
spu'itual  life.  There  is  a  constant  strife  between  what  is 
social  and  what  is  spiritual.  The  rush  of  entertainments, 
the  rivalry  in  display,  the  wicked  extravagance  of  women 
which  leads  men  into  crime,  the  constant  dissipation  which 
makes  it  impossible  for  the  church  to  get  a  fair  chance  at 
those  who  need  its  ministries,  are  facts  which  cannot  be  ques- 
tioned.   Growth  in  spirituality  is  an  impossibility  when  such 

231 


282  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

conditions  prevail.  Theii'  existence  is  entirely  in  the  hands  of 
women.  They  plan  for  them,  they  can  modify  and  control 
them.  It  is  the  first  work  of  Christian  women  in  a  com- 
munity so  to  organize  and  direct  its  social  life  that  it  shall 
minister  to,  and  not  hinder,  the  work  of  the  church.  If  they 
insist  that  the  evenings  of  church  meetings  shall  be  kept  free 
from  entertainments,  that  social  gatherings  shall  assemble 
and  disperse  at  reasonable  hours,  that  immodest  styles  of 
dressing  shall  not  prevail,  they  will  do  more  to  promote  the 
progress  of  Christianity  in  the  world  than  in  all  other  possi- 
ble wa^^s.  Woman's  greatest  power  is  social,  and  she  can  do 
more  to  advance  Christ's  kingdom  by  proper  use  of  that  power 
than  by  missionary  societies  and  temperance  societies  and 
homes  for  the  friendless.  The  social  environment  powerfully 
influences  the  whole  life  of  man.  It  can  be  determined  and 
properly  limited  only  by  women.  If  the  women  of  each 
church  who  occupy  prominent  social  positions  would  confer 
together  concerning  these  matters,  and  unite  on  a  plan  of 
action,  beneficent  results  would  speedily  follow. 

The  charitable  work  of  a  church  is  of  two  kinds,  \dz. :  that 
which  relates  to  the  parish  and  that  which  is  outside.  Under 
this  head  we  shall  consider  the  former.  There  is  little  need 
to  stimulate  activity  in  this  department.  Our  suggestions 
will  concern  what  we  conceive  to  be  a  waste  of  power. 
Usually,  in  an  average  church,  will  be  found  a  Ladies'  Foreign 
Missionary  Society,  a  Ladies'  Home  Missionary  Society,  a 
Ladies'  Aid  Society,  a  Young  Ladies'  Foreign  Missionary 
Society,  a  Young  Ladies'  Home  Missionary  Society,  and  prob- 
ably a  Children's  Band.  The  result  of  so  many  societies  is  con- 
fusion, a  dissipation  of  energ}',  and,  probably,  a  much  smaller 
proportion  of  workers  than  if  there  were  fewer  societies. 
Where  there  are  so  many  meetings  none  are  well  attended, 
there  is  little  enthusiasm,  and  those  who  endeavor  to  attend  all 
are  unduly  burdened.  Why  should  not  the  elderly  ladies  have 
one  society,  doing  work  abroad,  in  our  own  country,  and  in 
the  parish?  One  good  meeting  a  week  is  worth  a  dozen 
poor  ones.  WTien  the  notice  one  week  is  for  the  Ladies'  Home 
Missionary  Society,  and  the  next  for  the  Foreign  Missionary 
Society,  and  the  next  for  the  Aid  Society,  the  average  female 


WOMAN'S   WORK   IN    THE    LOCAL    CHURCH      283 

is  confused,  and  concludes  to  remain  at  home.  The  constitu- 
tions of  some  of  the  general  organizations,  to  which  the  local 
societies  are  auxiliary,  contain  clauses  which  forbid  such  com- 
bination of  activity  as  is  here  indicated.  Those  provisions  are 
foolish,  and  ought  to  be  disregarded  by  local  societies  until 
broader  and  fairer  plans  of  working  are  adopted.  An  illus- 
tration of  this  absurdity  is  in  the  constitution  of  the  Woman's 
Board  Auxiliary  to  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners 
for  Foreign  Missions.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this 
organization  has  been  a  magnificent  success.  There  can  be 
just  as  little  doubt  that  the  clause  in  its  constitution  to  which 
reference  has  been  made  has  been  a  great  hindrance  to  the 
best  work  in  the  local  church. 

The  charitable  work  of  the  church,  as  distinguished  from 
the  missionary  work,  divides  itself  into  three  or  four  depart- 
ments. We  shall  only  refer  to  those  things  which  should  be 
done  by  women.  It  will  be  a  good  rule  for  the  women  in  all 
churches  never  to  do  anything  which  they  can  prevail  upon 
the  men  to  do.  The  tendency  on  the  part  of  the  male  church- 
members  to  shirk  ought  never  to  be  encouraged  by  the  more 
conscientious  and  confident  women. 

In  all  communities  of  average  size  there  should  be  a  Childen's 
Home.  Such  an  institution  is  needed  not  more  by  the  children 
than  by  those  who  have  no  work  which  appeals  to  their  sym- 
pathies. In  rural  villages  there  may  be  no  place  for  such  a 
home,  but  in  all  cities,  and  suburban  towns,  there  is  constant 
need.  In  suburban  towns,  if  there  are  not  children  who  are 
suffering  near  at  hand,  they  can  certainly  be  brought  from 
the  cities. 

Usually,  the  Children's  Home  will  be  a  union  institution.  In 
order  that  it  may  be  properly  conducted,  denominational  lines 
should  be  ignored.  Those  who  manage  it  should  be  chosen, 
not  with  reference  to  the  church  they  may  attend,  but  for  their 
ability  to  do  the  work.  Many  boards  of  managers  are  more 
than  half  composed  of  those  who  never  do  anything,  and 
whose  names  appear  only  as  sops  to  the  detestable  denomina- 
tional spirit.  This  work  must  be  chiefly  in  the  hands  of 
women.  Where  no  such  institution  exists,  those  who  are  in 
harmony,  who  have  faith  in  its  necessity,  should  meet  and 


284  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

organize,  and  make  tlieir  appeal  to  the  community.  Each 
church  that  is  able  to  do  so,  or,  in  smaller  communities,  a 
union  of  Christian  people  in  the  various  churches,  should 
maintain  a  Children's  Home.  The  limits  of  this  chapter  will 
not  allow  details  for  the  management  of  such  institutions,  but 
they  can  be  easily  secured  from  the  managers  of  the  many 
already  in  existence. 

If  the  town  is  of  sufficient  size,  or  composed  of  a  popula- 
tion requiring  such  provision,  there  should  be  included  in  the 
Home  a  "Day  Nursery,''  where  poor  women  who  are  com- 
pelled to  work  out,  and  have  little  children  with  no  one  to 
care  for  them,  can  leave  them  during  working-hours.  This  is 
one  of  the  best  methods  for  giving  wise  assistance  to  the  poor. 

Where  it  is  possible,  there  should  be  a  committee  of  ladies 
in  each  church  for  home  lectures.  These  lectures  are  for  the 
benefit  of  poor  women,  servant  girls,  and  those  who  have  no 
advantages  of  education  in  hygienic  and  sanitary  matters.  This 
department  of  activity  has  been  carried  to  a  higher  degree  of 
perfection  in  Birmingham,  England,  than  elsewhere.  There 
it  is  in  the  hands  of  a  society  of  women,  with  the  wife  of  Dr. 
E.  W.  Dale  at  the  head,  and  is  not  connected  with  an  individual 
church.  In  this  country  it  is  connected  with  a  specific  church. 
The  plan  is  as  follows :  A  committee  of  women  competent 
for  the  service  is  chosen  by  the  pastor.  They  select  a  room  in 
proximity  to  the  class  to  be  reached.  Then  they  arrange  a 
course  of  lectures  by  competent  speakers  on  such  subjects  as 
the  following:  How  to  Prevent  Sickness,  The  Care  of  the 
Babies,  The  Training  of  Children,  The  Outside  of  the 
House,  The  Home  Beautiful,  How  to  keep  Men  and  Boys 
at  Home,  What  to  do  in  Emergencies.  To  such  lectures 
as  these  are  added  others  on  Economical  Living,  Cooking, 
The  Art  of  Nursing,  etc.  The  lectures  are  conversational  in 
form,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  illustrated.  All  the  lectures  are 
free.  The  good- will  of  the  Catholic  priest  is  secured  by  sub- 
mitting the  whole  plan  to  him  and  showing  him  that  there  is 
no  ulterior  design.  Personal  invitations  are  given  to  a  small 
number,  and  they  are  provided  with  cards  of  invitation  to 
circulate  as  they  may  think  best.  Especial  attention  is  paid 
to  securing  the  attendance  of  servants.    The  advantages  of 


WOMAN'S   WORK   IN    THE    LOCAL    CHURCH      285 

such  work  are  many.  They  disseminate  needed  information. 
They  give  opportunities  for  Christian  women  to  come  in  con- 
tact with  the  poor  and  ignorant  in  such  ways  as  show  their 
unselfishness  and  the  genuineness  of  their  interest.  The  gate 
into  the  spiritual  usually  leads  through  things  temporal. 
Those  who  thus  from  simple  love  minister  to  the  poor  in  tem- 
poral things  find  them  more  willing  to  listen  when  they  are 
approached  on  matters  pertaining  to  religion. 

No  workers  in  a  church  can  do  more  to  increase  its  useful- 
ness than  a  band  of  properly  qualified  deaconesses.  Shall 
they  be  elected  as  other  officers  ?  or  shall  they  be  selected  by 
the  pastor  as  his  especial  helpers  in  pastoral  work?  The 
writer  of  this  paper  prefers  the  latter  method.  The  pastor 
selects  such  a  number  and  such  persons  as  the  circumstances 
of  the  church  make  expedient.  The  whole  parish  is  divided 
into  districts.  Each  district  has  a  deaconess  whose  duty  it  is 
to  keep  watch  over  all  the  persons  in  that  district.  If  any 
need  the  pastor,  she  informs  him ;  if  any  are  liable  to  be  neg- 
lected, she  asks  others  to  caU  and  extend  friendly  courtesies ; 
if  any  are  poor,  and  need  assistance,  they  are  reported  to  the 
proper  officers ;  if  any  strangers  come  into  her  district,  she 
takes  care  that  they  are  invited  to  attend  church.  These  are 
what  may  be  called  the  social  and  temporal  duties  of  the 
deaconesses.  Then  foUow  the  spiritual  duties.  They  keep 
watch  over  aU  in  their  district,  and  if  any  need  especial  care 
they  go  to  them,  and  either  help  them,  or  direct  them  to  the 
proper  ones  to  give  help.  They  visit  young  converts ;  they 
talk  with  the  unconverted,  look  after  the  sick,  and  if  need  be 
pray  wdth  them  ;  they  act  for  the  pastor  in  all  possible  ways. 
They  have  a  monthly  or  a  weekly  meeting  with  the  pastor,  at 
which  the  results  of  their  calling  and  various  observations  are 
reported,  and  they  give  to  him  usually  the  most  rehable  infor- 
mation he  obtains  concerning  the  condition  of  the  parish. 
Where  the  proper  women  are  secured  for  this  work,  no  people 
in  the  parish  are  likely  to  be  neglected.  All  are  called  upon, 
and  the  pastor  is  kept  informed  as  he  could  not  be  if  dependent 
on  his  ow^n  resources  alone. 

The  women  chosen  for  this  service  should  never  be  of  the 
'^ goody  goody"  kind,  and  seldom  past  middle  age.      They 


286  THE    PEOPLE   AT    WORK 

should  be  selected  for  their  social  position  and  social  gifts, 
as  well  as  for  their  spirituality.  Sociability,  social  position, 
intelligence,  and  spiiituality  are  essential  to  the  successful 
deaconess.  These  qualifications  are  far  more  likely  to  be 
secured  when  the  pastor  carefully  chooses  his  helpers  than 
when  they  are  selected  by  vote  of  the  church. 

These  are  the  more  prominent  ways  in  which  women  are 
helping  in  the  advancement  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  con- 
nection with  parish  work.  No  mention  is  made  here  of  the 
Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  because  that  is  dis- 
tinctively national,  and  takes  hold  of  a  community  rather  than 
a  parish.  Women's  prayer-meetings  no  doubt  do  great  good 
in  certain  communities,  but  it  is  hard  to  see  why  there  should 
be  a  separate  meeting  for  women  any  more  than  for  men.  In 
this  day,  when  the  sexes  are  speaking  from  the  same  plat- 
forms, practicing  the  same  professions,  acting  together  on 
school-boards,  and  studying  in  the  same  schools,  why  should 
they  not  confer  and  pray  together  in  religious  assemblies? 
Where  that  is  impossible,  women's  meetings  for  prayer  are 
desirable.  But  it  is  never  well  to  keep  too  many  meetings 
moving.  Multiplicity  of  gatherings  usually  means  dissipation 
of  spiritual  power. 

In  all  churches  for  about  eight  months  of  the  year  there, 
should  be  monthly  sociables.  These  should  be  in  the  hands 
of  women  who  are  especially  gifted  with  sociability.  The 
average  church  sociable  is  about  as  uninteresting  as  the  average 
prayer-meeting,  and  for  the  reason  that  the  persons  usually 
best  qualified  to  have  charge  of  them  have  nothing  to  do  with 
them.  These  meetings,  whose  sole  object  is  to  promote 
acquaintance  between  those  who  would  not  otherwise  know 
one  another,  are  often  in  the  hands  of  some  prim,  precise, 
persistent,  and  crotchety  woman,  who  may  be  worth  her 
weight  of  gold  in  some  places,  but  who  has  no  more  fitness 
for  her  office  than  the  average  minister  has  to  be  director  of 
an  orchestra.  If  there  are  three  women  in  any  church  who 
know  all  the  people,  who  can  talk  with  animation  and  inter- 
est, who  can  make  an  evening  enjoyable  even  for  the  most 
sedate  and  common,  they  are  the  ones  to  have  charge  of  the 


WOMAN'S   WORK    IN    THE    LOCAL    CHURCH      287 

sociables.  Mrs.  Prim  and  Mrs.  Precise  may  attend  all  the 
other  meetings,  but  they  repel  the  average  man,  and  the  timid 
woman  who  has  just  moved  into  the  parish.  They  will  kill 
the  sociables  if  they  manage  them. 

We  have  spoken  of  what  woman  has  done  and  can  do 
through  the  church.  But  woman's  best  work  is  never  in  organ- 
izations. It  is  in  her  power  to  inspii'e  rather  than  in  her  abil- 
ity to  manipulate  machinery,  in  what  she  induces  others  to  do 
than  in  what  she  does  herself.  The  most  efficient  woman  is 
she  who  uses  the  magnetism  of  a  refined  and  spiritual  person- 
ality to  keep  before  those  who  surround  her  lofty  ideals  in 
social  and  religious  life  ;  who  sthnulates  inquiry  and  endeavor 
along  lines  elevated  and  beneficent ;  who  makes  her  home,  if 
she  has  one,  and,  if  not,  the  circle  in  which  she  moves,  to 
thrill  with  enthusiasm  for  knowledge  and  purity  and  help- 
fulness. Not  the  less  necessary,  however,  is  that  which  can 
be  done  only  through  organizations.  To  them  the  church  of 
to-day  owes  a  large  part  of  its  efficiency. 

This  chapter  would  be  incomplete  without  a  few  words  of 
caution. 

First.  Woman's  power  is  largely  in  her  tact;  but  some 
women  have  no  tact.  Care  should  be  taken  to  prevent  such 
persons  fi'om  getting  into  places  of  authority.  They  will  not 
intend  to  fail ;  they  will  simply  be  misfits.  AU  the  same  they 
will  spoil  the  best  attempts  to  do  efficient  service.  People  will 
not  work  with  those  who  are  not  agreeable.  Perhaps  they 
ought  to,  but  they  will  not.  Those  who  are  in  the  prominent 
places  should  be  agreeable  women  as  weU  as  good  women. 

Second.  There  are  always  sure  to  be  many  societies  among 
the  women  in  a  large  chui'ch,  and  this  leads  to  the  statement 
that  no  part  of  the  church  should  be  set  apart  to  the  use  of  any 
one  society  if  there  is  any  possibility  of  a  conflict.  The  whole 
church  is  for  the  whole  church,  and  no  little  coterie  should 
monopolize  the  management  of  any  one  part  of  the  edifice. 

Third.  In  aU  church  societies,  where  it  is  possible,  compulsoiy 
rotation  in  office  is  desu-able.  Thus  responsibility  is  divided,  and 
if  any  persons  are  put  in  positions  they  are  not  fitted  to  fiU,  in 
due  season  they  rotate  out,  and  those  who  have  the  right  to 
vote  profit  by  past  mistakes,  and  elect  right  persons  next  time. 


288  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

Fourth.  Woman's  work  is  first  in  the  home  and  then  in  the 
church.  The  one  should  never  be  neglected  for  the  other. 
Missionary  societies,  and  children's  homes,  and  outside  calling 
are  never  so  important  for  a  mother  as  the  care  of  her  family. 
Many  a  man  is  unfaithful  to  the  marital  relations  because  no 
smile  welcomes  him  when  he  comes  wearied  and  jaded  from 
business ;  and  the  place  that  ought  to  be  his  haven  of  rest,  his 
refuge  from  storms,  is  unsociable  and  monotonous  and 
gloomy.  When  women  make  their  homes  beautiful,  and  dif- 
fuse through  them  a  contagious  sociability  that  shall  make 
them  attractive,  then  they  may  consider  what  they  can  do  out- 
side. Many  a  woman  is  eloquent  at  a  missionary  meeting, 
and  tireless  at  an  aid  society,  who  is  glum  and  repulsive  when 
with  her  husband  and  family.  The  home  is  the  holiest  of 
churches. 

We  have  sought  in  this  chapter  simply  to  offer  some  hints 
concerning  a  large  and  diversified  subject.  All  the  suggestions 
toward  special  lines  of  activity  are  descriptions  of  what  is 
already  in  operation,  and  the  warnings  have  back  of  them 
painful  experiences  from  which  others  may  be  shielded.  What 
has  been  is  only  a  prophecy  of  what  is  to  be.  This  century 
has  given  us  Florence  Nightingale  and  Sister  Dora,  the  dea- 
conesses at  Kaiserwerth  and  at  Mildmay ;  Ann  Hasseltine  Jud- 
son  and  Mrs.  Capron ;  Octavia  Hill  and  Clara  Barton ;  and  a 
church  whose  efficiency  has  been  doubled  because  of  what 
women  have  done.  The  century  that  will  follow  will  show 
churches  freer  and  more  efficient,  and  in  them  a  larger  place 
for  the  enthusiasm  and  fervor  of  consecrated  Christian  women. 


VIII 

MAN'S  WORK  IN  THE  LOCAL  CHURCH 

THE  fundamental  fact  of  the  present  industrial  regime  is 
the  fact  of  the  division  of  labor.  The  almost  miracu- 
lous increase  of  the  productive  powers  of  labor,  which  results 
from  the  subdivision  of  the  various  manufactures  into  many 
simple  separate  processes, —  thus  permitting  the  use  of  machin- 
ery, and  promoting  rapidity  of  execution  in  hand- work, —  is  a 
matter  of  common  observation.  To  this  improved  method 
the  overflowing  wealth  of  the  century  is  largely  due. 

There  seems  to  be  danger,  however,  of  carrying  this  division 
of  labor  too  far  in  some  directions.  Every  man  combines  in  him- 
self quite  a  number  of  different  characters.  He  is  a  business 
man,  or  aprofessional  man,  or  a  laboring  man,—  a  bread-winner, 
by  some  method  of  industry;  that  is  one  of  his  characters. 
He  is  a  neighbor :  he  may  be  a  husband  and  father,  a  son  or 
brother ;  he  is  a  citizen ;  he  is,  or  ought  to  be,  a  church-mem- 
ber. Now,  it  is  important  that  he  perform  not  one  or  two  of 
these  functions  well,  but  all  of  them.  This  is  what  is  meant 
in  the  New  Testament  by  being  a  "  perfect  man."  Perfection 
does  not  mean  sinlessness  but  completeness, —  the  symmetrical 
development  of  the  whole  man ;  the  fulfillment  of  aU  normal 
functions.  Holiness  is  wholeness.  One  would  not  be  called 
perfect  physically  who  had  a  splendid  head,  or  arm,  or  chest, 
but  was  dwarfed  or  crippled  in  several  other  members ;  the 
physically  perfect  man  would  be  the  one  whose  members  and 
organs  were  aU  healthily  and  equally  developed.  So,  a  man 
could  not  be  said  to  have  a  perfect  character  who  was  a  kind 
neighbor,  but  not  a  good  husband  and  father ;  or  who  was  a 
faithful  church-member,  but  not  a  public-spirited  citizen ;  or 
who  was  a  very  successful  money-maker,  but  not  much  of 
anj- thing  else.  And  the  tendency  to  which  I  am  now  referring 
is  the  very  strong  tendency  among  large  classes  of  our  citi- 
zens to  become  successful  money-makers  and  not  much  of  any- 
thing else.  This  is  carrying  the  di\dsion  of  labor  a  trifle  too  far. 

19  289 


290  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

The  fact  is  recognized  that  money  is  power.  It  commands 
all  sorts  of  commodities,  and  all  sorts  of  services.  You  can 
buy  almost  any  species  of  goods  you  can  think  of,  if  you  have 
money  enough  j  and  you  can  have  almost  anything  done  that 
you  want  done,  if  you  have  money  enough.  You  can  hire 
men  to  plow,  to  reap,  to  delve,  to  drive,  to  build,  to  buy,  to 
sell,  to  teach,  to  heal,  to  talk,  to  pray,  to  cheat,  to  tempt,  to 
curse,  to  destroy.  There  are  some  whom  you  cannot  hire  to 
do  some  things ;  some  whom  you  could  not  hire  to  do  what 
they  believe  to  be  wrong.  The  common  saying  that  every  man 
has  his  price  is  a  stupid  slander ;  but  there  are  few  services,  no 
matter  how  base  or  desperate,  that  you  cannot  hire  somebody 
to  perform,  if  you  have  money  enough.  And,  generally,  if 
you  choose  to  use  it  for  that  purpose,  you  can  command  with 
money  the  services  of  good  men  and  women  to  do  many  kinds 
of  good  work.  Now  there  are  many  kinds  of  benevolent 
services  that  must  be  done  by  those  who  devote  their  lives  to 
them ;  and  they  must  be  supported  in  doing  them  by  the  con- 
tributions of  others.  This  is  an  instance  of  the  division  of 
labor,  and  some  such  arrangement  is  necessary.  But  my 
point  is,  that  we  are  in  danger  of  carr^dng  it  too  far.  There 
are  not  a  few  among  us  who  are  quite  too  much  inclined  to 
devote  themselves  exclusively,  or  nearly  so,  to  the  secular 
calling,  or  to  the  making  of  money,  and  to  think  that  they 
can  commute  the  service  due  from  them  in  various  relations 
by  the  payment  of  money.  "  Money  will  command  services," 
they  say :  "  you  can  take  our  money  and  hire  somebody  else  to 
do  this  work  which  you  say  we  ought  to  do.  Is  not  this  the 
more  economical  and  effective  method  ?  We  know  more  about 
making  money  than  about  these  other  kinds  of  work  :  others 
know  more  about  these  other  kinds  of  work  than  about  mak- 
ing money.  Let  us  stick  to  business,  while  you  take  our  money 
and  hire  these  things  done." 

This  is  the  plea,  plausibly  and  often  honestly  urged,  whose 
validity  I  wish  to  examine.  It  seems  to  me  utterly  unsound. 
It  is  true  that  we  need  money  for  such  philanthropic  services ; 
money  is  often  quite  indispensable ;  but  the  crying  need  of 
these  great  enterprises  is  the  need  of  men.  There  is  power  in 
money  J  it  wiU  command  services  j   but  there  is  a  stronger 


MAN'S   WORK    IN    THE    LOCAL    CHURCH  291 

power, —  the  power  of  consecrated  manhood, —  and  it  is  for  this 
that  the  chiu-ch  is  calling  to-day  by  all  the  voices  of  its  deep- 
est need  and  its  heaviest  woe. 

Let  us  hear  how  this  specious  plea  should  sound  if  we  should 
apply  it  to  our  households.  Imagine  the  husband  and  father 
saying  this:  ^'My  business  in  this  family  is  that  of  bread- 
winner. To  that  I  must  devote  aU  my  energies.  I  can  spare 
no  time  or  thought  for  home  duties ;  the  home  must  furnish 
me  with  meals  and  lodging,  but  it  must  expect  little  from  me ; 
the  fireside  influence,  the  training  of  the  children,  the  comfort, 
the  welfare,  the  enjoyment  of  the  family  some  one  else  must 
look  after ;  I  wiU  furnish  the  money,  all  that  is  necessary  to 
supply  the  needs  of  all,  to  pay  for  the  education  of  the  chil- 
dren ;  but  I  can  give  no  attention  to  it  myself."  Would  this 
be  a  judicious  arrangement?  We  may  confess  that  a  good 
many  fathers  of  families  are,  practically,  following  about  this 
course ;  but  they  will  hardly  venture  to  defend  it.  It  is  not  the 
right  way  to  live,  even  if  it  is  the  way  that  many  of  us  do  live. 
And  many  a  home,  filled  with  all  the  luxuries  that  money  can 
buy,  is  sadly  in  need  of  something  that  money  cannot  buy.  A 
family  needs  a  father  much  more  than  it  needs  furniture  and 
plate  and  liveried  lackeys  and  waiting-maids.  "  Not  more 
money,  but  more  love  and  care ! "  is  the  pathetic  appeal  of 
many  a  family  to  its  natural  head,  who  is  neglecting  most  of 
his  domestic  duties  in  the  absorbing  work  of  building  up  a 
fortune.  . 

The  same  question  may  be  raised  with  respect  to  the  church 
to  which  you  belong.  There  are  not  a  few  of  the  adult  male 
members  of  our  churches  who  are  strongly  inclined  to  say 
that  they  can  give  to  the  church  no  personal  service.  They 
are  ready  to  contribute  liberally  for  the  support  of  the  church ; 
they  will  pay  others  to  perform  Christian  work  in  their  stead  ; 
but  their  business  cares  are  so  pressing  and  so  constant  that 
when  any  religious  service  is  required  of  them,  they  with  one 
consent  begin  to  make  excuse.  From  a  busy  church-member 
in  New  York,  a  man,  by  the  way,  who,  although  his  business 
cares  are  heavy,  is  seldom  absent  from  prayer-meeting,  comes 
a  letter  in  which  are  these  words  :  "  The  Rev.  Dr.  B [pas- 
tor of  a  large  suburban  church]  finds  that  aU  the  men  in  his 


292  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

church  go  to  New  York  during  the  day  and  come  home  so 
tired  that  he  cannot  get  much  work  out  of  them.  Accordingly 
he  has  assigned  districts  for  visitation  to  women  whom  he 

calls  deaconesses.     The  Rev.  Dr.  R [pastor  of  one  of  the 

largest  churches  in  New  York  City]  rightly  or  wrongly  has 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  his  men  are  so  busy  that  he  must 
run  his  church  with  paid  theological  students ;  and  he  says 
that  the  outlook  in  the  cities  is  that  we  shall  not  only  have 
paid  choir  singers,  sextons,  and  visitors,  but  also  paid  elders 
and  deacons.  This  would  seem  to  be  a  logical  sequence  of 
rented  pews  and  hired  choirs." 

Dearly  beloved  brethren,  how  does  this  prospect  please  you  ? 
Will  the  church  be  in  a  healthy  condition  when  this  state  of 
things  is  realized  ?  Doubtless  your  money  will  hii-e  agents, 
visitors,  city  missionaries,  and  all  such  helpers  and  servants 
of  the  church ;  but  do  you  think  that  these  people  can  do  your 
work  ?  They  can  do  something,  no  doubt ;  the  fact  that  they 
are  hired  to  do  the  work  is  no  proof  that  they  will  not  do  it 
conscientiously ;  but  your  faith,  your  love,  your  zeal,  your 
earnestness,  your  personal  consecration,  will  not  be  in  the 
work ;  and  while  your  money  may  help,  the  work  wants  you 
a  great  deal  more  than  it  wants  your  money. 

Our  churches,  as  working  bodies,  are  sorely  weakened,  now- 
adays, by  this  cause.  The  church  work  is  not  so  well  done  as 
it  ought  to  be,  because  it  is  left,  almost  all  of  it,  to  the  minis- 
ters and  the  women.  It  is  not  good  for  the  churches  that  the 
practical  shaping  of  their  lives  is  left  so  largely  to  the  minis- 
ters and  the  women.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  I 
despise  neither  ministers  nor  women  ;  but  I  see  the  crying  need 
in  our  church  administration  of  forces  which  neither  of  them 
can  set  in  operation.  Good  mortar,  I  observe,  is  made  of  water 
and  lime  and  sand,  in  due  proportions.  That  would  not  be  good 
mortar  for  building  which  was  composed  almost  wholly  of 
water  and  hme,  and  had  in  it  very  little  sand.  But  he  who 
declared  that  it  was  not  good  mortar  would  not  be  understood 
as  denying  that  water  and  lime  are  both  essential  ingredients 
and,  perhaps,  finer  and  more  precious  than  the  sand. 

This  lack  of  the  robust  and  virile  element  in  the  religious  life 
of  our  chm'ches  is  greatly  to  be  deplored.     We  hear  much  of 


MAN'S    WORK    IN    THE    LOCAL    CHURCH  298 

^'Woman's  Work  in  the  Church"}  essays  and  treatises  are 
written  about  it ;  there  is  an  excellent  one  in  the  pages  just 
preceding  this,  written  at  my  request,  and  well  written.  The 
theme  is  a  fruitful  and  a  pleasant  one ;  it  is  well  to  discuss  it. 
But  it  is  time  somebody  was  beginning  to  talk  a  little  more 
cogently  about  ^'  Man's  Work  in  the  Church."  Really  that  is 
of  considerable  consequence,  also.  And  there  is  not  nearly  so 
much  of  it  as  there  ought  to  be.  No  wiser  word  is  in  Dr. 
Bradford's  paper  than  the  counsel  to  Christian  women  to  do 
no  work  that  they  can  prevail  upon  men  to  do. 

There  is  reason  for  saying  that  the  men  of  this  generation 
are  shirking  much  of  the  work  that  belongs  to  them.  The 
work  of  education,  as  well  as  the  religious  work  of  our 
churches,  is  committed,  in  all  but  the  highest  grades,  almost 
exclusively  to  women.  In  the  high  schools  and  the  colleges 
the  men  have  some  part  in  it  ;  but  nineteen-twentieths  of  our 
boys  and  girls  have  no  other  teaching  than  that  of  women.  I 
do  not  question  the  value  of  the  work  done  by  our  women 
teachers ;  as  a  rule  it  is  patient,  thorough,  admirable  work. 
No  better  work  could  be  done  by  men.  But  the  work  of  men 
would  be  different  work.  Men's  ways  of  thinking,  of  speak- 
ing, of  acting,  of  teaching,  are  no  better  than  women's  ways ; 
but  they  are  unlike  women's  ways.  The  impression  made 
upon  the  mind  of  a  boy  or  girl  by  constant  association  with 
an  intelligent,  honorable,  high-minded  man  is  no  better  than 
that  made  by  an  intelligent,  honorable,  high-minded  woman ; 
but  the  force  exerted  is  of  a  different  value  and  acts  in  a  dif- 
ferent way ;  and  for  the  right  training  of  our  boys  and  girls 
we  need  both  kinds.  We  ought  to  have  men  as  teachers  in 
all  our  grammar  schools ;  not  necessarily  in  the  chief  places, 
for  there  are  women  who  are  quite  as  well  qualified  as  men  to 
organize  and  direct  the  work,  but  somewhere  in  the  course  of 
study.  In  the  school,  as  in  the  home,  we  make  a  great  mis- 
take when  we  assume  that  the  training  of  the  young,  the 
building  of  character,  is  exclusively  or  mainly  a  feminine 
function. 

For  aU  these  reasons,  and  others  that  cannot  now  be  men- 
tioned, the  di\'ision  of  labor  by  which  our  strong  men  devote 
themselves  mainly  to  the  business  of  bread-winning,  and  leave 


294  THE    PEOPLE   AT    WORK 

the  higher  avocations  —  those  which  are  concerned  with  the 
moral  and  spiritual  interests  of  mankind  —  largely  to  the  care 
of  women,  is  a  mischievous  arrangement.  That  our  churches 
are  suffering  grievously  from  this  cause  is  painfully  apparent. 
When  you  go  into  a  prayer-meeting  and  find  five  to  ten  times 
as  many  women  as  men,  you  see  a  sign  that  is  ominous. 
When  you  discover  that  the  charitable  and  mission  work  of 
our  cities  is  done  mostly  by  women,  you  hit  upon  a  fact  which 
explains  many  others.  Money  power  is,  for  many  purposes, 
a  valuable  kind  of  power ;  no  sensible  man  will  deny  or  dis- 
parage it  5  but  the  power  that  we  need  most  in  all  our  churches 
is  man  power.  Holy  Ghost  power,  do  you  say  *?  Certainly ; 
that  is  what  I  mean.  Consecrated  man  power  —  the  kind  of 
power  that  the  Holy  Ghost  can  exert  through  the  character 
and  life  of  a  man.  This  is  a  different  kind  of  power  from 
that  which  he  can  exert  through  the  character  and  life  of  a 
woman.  The  sun  sends  a  different  ray  through  the  purple 
pane  of  your  window  from  that  which  he  sends  through  the 
scarlet  pane ;  the  tuneful  breath  of  the  musician  produces  a 
different  sound  when  it  vibrates  in  the  silver  tube  of  the  flute 
from  that  which  it  makes  in  the  brazen  convolutions  of  the 
bugle.  And  the  divine  light  and  inspiration,  as  revealed  to 
the  world  in  the  life  of  a  man,  is  different  in  tint  and  tone 
from  that  which  appears  in  the  life  of  a  woman.  It  is  this 
particular  kind  of  spiritual  power  that  the  church  needs 
to-day.  We  need  the  money  of  our  strong  men,  of  course ; 
but  we  need  their  presence,  their  influence,  their  help,  their 
personal  power  a  great  deal  more.  If  every  pastor  could  have 
his  choice  between  the  addition  of  a  few  hundred  dollars  to 
his  salary  and  the  addition  of  a  score  of  strong  men  to  the 
working  force  in  Sunday-school  and  prayer-meeting  and  mis- 
sion work,  few  of  them,  I  think,  would  be  long  in  choosing. 
Money  power  is  good,  so  long  as  clear  heads  and  consecrated 
hearts  go  with  it  to  wield  it;  but  when  money  power  is 
divorced  from  moral  power,  and  comes  to  be  regarded  as  the 
chief  motive  power  in  the  work  of  any  church,  the  ruin  of  that 
church  is  already  wrought. 


IX 

MISSION  WORK   IN  THE  WIDE   FIELD 

THE  mission  of  no  church  ends  with  itseK,  or  with  the 
land  in  which  it  is  planted.  It  must  embrace  the  world. 
The  Master  said,  ^'  The  field  is  the  world ;  disciple  all  nations ; 
to  every  creature  preach  my  Gospel."  That  he  might  draw 
the  world  unto  himself,  he  was  lifted  up. 

To  make  the  one  Name  known,  the  world  over ;  to  make  the 
kingdom  of  Heaven  conterminous  with  the  habitable  globe ;  to 
enthrone  Christ  in  the  world  out  of  which  he  was  cast  5  to  send 
his  word  coursing  through  the  literature  of  all  nations ;  to  plant 
the  Gospel  tree  among  all  peoples  for  their  healing  from  the 
deadly  hurt  of  sin, — this  is  the  mission  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 
For  so  hath  the  Lord  commanded  us :  "  I  have  set  thee  for  a 
hght  of  the  Gentiles,  that  thou  shouldest  be  for  salvation  unto 
the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth." 

And  preaching,  also  pray.  Pray,  how !  Thy  kingdom  come. 
Pray  ye  the  Lord  of  harvest  that  he  would  send  forth  laborers 
into  his  harvest. 

It  will  be  said.  This  is  axiomatic.  It  is  even  commonplace. 
Why,  then,  is  it  but  half  believed  ?  It  is  grand  enough  to  wake 
the  wonder  and  caU  forth  the  acclaim  of  angels ;  why  does  it 
kindle  so  little  enthusiasm  in  human  hearts  redeemed  1  Our 
Christ  died  to  have  it  so ;  what  are  we  doing  that  the  passion  of 
his  heart  may  be  realized "?  You  know,  perhaps,  five  hundred 
disciples.  How  many  are  enthusiastic  for  missions  beyond  our 
own  shores  ?  How  many  give  a  cent  a  week  that  such  a  con- 
summation may  be  reached  ?  How  many,  intelligent  in  other 
matters,  open  to  other  calls,  tell  you  frankly  that  they  do  not 
believe  in  missions  to  the  heathen,  and  shut  theii'  purses  and 
keep  the  cause  out  of  their  wills?  And  this  is  the  nineteenth 
century !  These  very  men  read  their  New  Testament,  and  say 
the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  around  his  table  confess  Christ  to  be 
Lord  as  well  as  Saviour ! 

The  question  is  not  now  as  to  the  relative  claims  of  this  or 
that,  but  of  room  for  any  claim  at  all  as  toward  the  outlying 

295 


296  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

world.  This  grave  matter  needs  to  come  home  to  at  least  thirty- 
three  per  cent,  of  the  church  as  a  call  to  swift  repentance,  and 
works  meet  therefor ;  and  to  all  the  Church  of  God,  as  a  sum- 
mons to  wipe  out  this  stain  from  her  escutcheon.  This  is  af- 
firmed to  be  the  matter  of  chief  concern.  If  we  cannot  shame 
this  disloyalty  to  Christ  out  of  the  camp  of  his  Israel,  why 
dweU  on  methods  of  warfare  ? 

It  is  sometimes  said,  '^  We  believe  in  this  outlying  work,  but 
it  must  take  its  turn.  Just  now,  for  ten  or  twenty  years  to 
come,  the  great  work  is  here  at  home.''  We  have  prophets  of 
this  sort.  Are  they  divinely  sent?  They  get  no  countenance 
from  apostolic  precedent  or  Christ's  words,  nor  are  they  ac- 
credited by  the  experience  of  the  churches  in  this  modern  era 
of  missions.  No  man  knows  enough  to  lay  out  the  work  of 
the  kingdom  for  ten  or  twenty  years.  It  is  presumption  so 
to  attempt.  Whence  is  salvation  to  come  to  this  land  ?  No 
man  can  say  but  that  fidelity  to  the  great  commission,  in  the 
literal  terms  thereof,  and  the  sort  of  consecration  which  this 
would  beget,  constitute  the  very  element  lacking  which  our 
home  work  would  be  shorn  of  power.  A  world-field  j  a  wait- 
ing church ;  a  presiding,  guiding,  inspiring  spirit ;  the  Master's 
caU,  heard  and  heeded,  coming  from  the  four  quarters  of 
the  globe, —  these  are  essential  factors  in  the  problem.  The 
urgency  of  the  hour,  read  in  needs,  opportunity,  results  of 
work,  distributes  itseK  very  evenly  over  the  globe. 

This  is  primarily  a  matter  for  ministers.  If  they  stand 
squarely  on  this  platform,  their  ears  open  to  every  Macedo- 
nian caU,  expecting  to  hear  it  from  the  east,  west,  north,  and 
south,  their  eyes  on  the  wide  field  to  see  how  it  fares  with  the 
standard-bearers  of  the  cross  at  the  front,  and  their  hearts 
open  in  generous  sympathy  toward  every  worker  in  the  wide 
field,  the  prayers  of  Christ  freighting  their  prayers  for  the 
triumph  of  the  kingdon,  their  zeal  will  be  contagious. 

But  if  ministers  do  not  know  anything  about  the  work  or 
the  workers,  and  seldom  seem  to  care  what  becomes  of  the 
heathen  world,  and  never  to  realize  in  prayer  or  discourse 
that  Christ  has  thought  or  purpose  for  any  besides  their  flock, 
or  at  most  the  land  they  live  in,  and  really  fall  behind  many 
of  their  people  in  intelhgence,  their  indifference  will  do  much 


MISSION    WORK    IN    THE    WIDE    FIELD  297 

to  damp  the  ardor  of  the  engaged  and  quite  smother  out 
the  smoking  flax.  Which  sort  of  a  minister  are  you  ?  Which 
sort  of  a  pastor  is  yours  1 

The  thing  to  be  done  is  to  take  this  world  for  Christ.  The 
church,  organized  as  pastor  and  people,  is  to  do  it.  Two 
things  are  requisite,  men  and  money.  There  is  a  force  at  the 
front  to  be  recruited,  enlarged,  sustained :  recruits  and  means 
to  be  drawn,  as  yet,  mostly  from  the  church  at  home.  If  they 
are  forthcoming  it  will  be  because  of  faith  in  the  work,  intelli- 
gence ill  regard  to  it,  prayer  for  its  success,  giving  for  its 
advancement ;  and  prayers  and  gifts  will  be  in  proportion  to 
faith  and  intelligence. 

It  is  a  part  of  the  minister's  business  to  educate  and  stimu- 
late his  people  for  this  work, —  the  grounds  of  it,  in  the  fath- 
erhood of  God  and  the  needs  of  all  men ;  the  authority  for  it, 
in  the  mission  of  Christ  and  his  specific  command ;  the  encour- 
agements to  it,  in  the  actual  results.  And  fruits  of  missions 
among  all  sorts  of  people,  specially  the  history  of  nineteenth- 
century  work  in  the  wide  field,  are  matters  to  be  kept  before 
the  people  till  they  are  intelligently  grasped  and  held. 

Then,  too,  there  are  prejudices  to  be  removed,  current  objec- 
tions to  be  met,  unbelief  to  be  uprooted,  newspaper  scribblings 
to  be  tested  in  the  light  of  authentic  facts.  Stale  though 
these  objections  may  be,  and  answered  a  thousand  times, 
they  will  not  down. 

The-  real  pm-pose  of  missions,  as  initiative,  the  great  object 
being  to  start  a  work  that  will,  in  due  time,  propagate  itself 
out  of  the  resources  of  the  very  lands  just  now  in  utter  dark- 
ness 5  and  the  methods  of  prosecuting  it,  as  well  as  the  hin- 
drances peculiar  to  each  land  and  people,  are  matters  the  church 
needs  to  know,  as  well  as  how  the  process  works  in  fact. 
Some  of  this  work  the  minister  can  do  from  his  pulpit,  some 
of  it  in  the  social  meetings  for  prayer,  some  of  it  in  pastoral 
contact  with  the  people.  There  are  ministers  who  have  so 
utilized  their  Lord's  day  evenings  in  lectures  on  the  religions 
of  unevangelized  lands,  the  history  of  missions  among  them, 
and  missionary  biography,  or  in  weU-planned  children's  con- 
certs, as  both  to  fire  their  own  and  their  people's  zeal,  and 
make  these  meetings  the  largest  they  ever  draw.     Some  use 


298  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

maps,  black-boards,  object-lessons,  and  lantern-slides,  with 
marked  effect. 

The  monthly  concert  of  prayer  for  the  conversion  of  the 
world  has  grown  into  an  institution  of  the  chnrch,  often 
unwieldy  and  prosaic,  while  theoretically,  and  in  its  possibil- 
ities, leading  all  other  social  meetings.  It  is  primarily  a  meet- 
ing for  prayer,  and  along  one  line.  All  else  is  auxiliary  to 
this  end,  that  the  church  may  py^ij  aright.  To  realize  the 
ideal  concert  of  prayer  is  worth  the  best  that  is  in  a  man. 

There  needs  to  be  an  equipment  of  outline  maps,  on  which 
the  work  of  the  church  can  be  indicated.  If  they  can  be 
extemporized  on  black-board  or  canvas,  so  much  the  better, 
but  they  ought  to  be  had  somehow. 

Current  missionary  literature,  not  only  of  one's  own  church, 
but  covering  the  wide  field,  should  be  within  reach.  Mission- 
ary biography  and  historical  sketches  of  the  work  on  particular 
fields  contain  great  riches  to  be  drawn  upon  at  all  times. 
Happily,  the  material  for  such  occasions  is  abundant  and 
within  easy  reach.  It  needs  to  be  possessed,  digested,  and 
made  ready  for  use.  The  missionary  organizations  of  the 
church  should  come  to  the  front  at  the  concert.  Where  it  is 
possible,  it  is  best  that  responsibility  be  distributed,  and  con- 
tributions made  by  many  individuals.  The  greatly  developed 
interest  of  the  women  and  young  people  of  the  church  is 
favorable  to  such  participation.  Many  a  sprightly  paper  that 
has  done  service  for  a  little  knot  of  praying  women  and  been 
laid  away  might  well  be  brought  forth  to  enliven  a  monthly 
concert.  But  heavy  articles,  and  long  essays,  and  prosy 
readings  from  journals  must  be  resolutely  excluded  if  the 
meeting  is  to  live  at  all. 

Of  all  social  meetings  this  will  least  bear  extemporizing. 
Some  one  must  father  it.  The  leader,  be  he  pastor  or  layman, 
must  be  full  of  the  matter  of  the  occasion,  have  his  helpers 
weU  in  hand,  be  ready  to  supplement  deficiencies  or  launch  a 
thought  to  give  emphasis  or  new  direction  to  what  has  been 
said.  Some  ministers  are  so  far  behind  their  people  on 
missionary  themes  that  they  make  themselves  ridiculous  so 
often  as  they  open  their  lips  upon  them.  There  is  but  one 
remedy :  catch  up  j  keep  up. 


MISSION   WORK    IN    THE    WIDE    FIELD  299 

A  missionary  concert  ought  not  to  be  limited  to  one  section 
of  the  earth's  surface.  It  is  the  field-night  for  the  world. 
What  has  a  month  done  for  the  kingdom?  What's  the  news 
from  the  wide  field  ?  What  the  movements  among  the  nations, 
and  how  do  they  affect  the  kingdom?  What  recruits,  vic- 
tories, defeats  have  been  registered  ?  President  Edwards  says, 
"  If  I  heard  the  least  hint  of  anything  that  happened,  in  any 
part  of  the  world,  having  a  favorable  aspect  on  the  interests 
of  Christ's  kingdom,  my  soul  eagerly  catched  at  it."  It  were 
well  if  aU  were  accustomed  to  scan  their  newspapers  with 
their  eye  on  the  bearings  of  current  events  upon  the  kingdom 
of  Heaven.  To  this  end  it  is  well  that  the  different  sections  of 
the  world  be  parceled  out  to  as  many  individuals,  and  a  place 
made  for  monthly  items  of  news,  briefly  stated  and  made  the 
occasion  for  prayer  or  thanksgi\'ing. 

There  is  no  better  place  to  begin  this  work  of  training  for 
the  wide  field  than  the  Sunday-school.  In  all  churches  it  is 
already  organized  and  officered.  It  is  only  necessary  to  con- 
stitute it  a  missionary  society,  give  a  session  each  quarter  to 
a  live  programme  of  songs,  talks,  question  and  answer,  and 
turn  the  offerings  on  certain  Sabbaths  of  each  month  in  this 
direction.  The  pastor  and  the  official  board  of  the  church  will 
need  to  look  after  this,  if  it  is  done.  If  they  have  allowed  the 
school  to  slip  out  of  their  hands,  and  made  the  superintendent 
autocrat  of  this  branch  of  church  work,  then,  nine  times  out 
of  ten,  this  cannot  be  done.  Considerable  experience  in  three 
or  four  States,  for  four  years,  has  sho^vn  me  that  one  thing  in 
which  the  average  superintendent  cannot  be  counted  upon  is 
interest  in  foreign  missions,  and  that  the  funds  of  Sunday- 
schools  are  the  most  ill-directed  of  all  the  moneys  of  the  church. 
There  are  many  notable  exceptions.  But,  if  the  pastor  is 
leader,  here  as  elsewhere,  and  church  officers,  superintendent, 
and  teachers  will  cooperate,  there  is  no  place  so  favorable  for 
training  a  missionary  generation  and  nothing  more  important 
to  be  done. 

Out  of  the  general  interest  thus  awakened,  bands  of  childi-en 
and  youth  can  be  crystallized  around  some  intelligent,  zealous 
teacher  for  special  work,  as  out  of  the  congregation  societies 
of  women  have  been  organized  to  promote  their  own  gi'owth 


300  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

in  missionary  zeal  and  meet  an  emergency  of  the  times. 
Whether  any  such,  and  how  many,  can  be  fitly  encouraged  is 
a  matter  for  local  adjustment.  Every  such  circle  must  have 
a  competent,  inspiring  leader.  There  is  need  of  some  versa- 
tility to  plan  and  carry  into  execution  a  scheme  that  will  be 
profitable.  But  anybody  with  a  fair  amount  of  zeal,  tact,  and 
perseverance  can  do  the  church  and  the  cause  of  missions 
good  service  by  calling  together  such  as  are  willing  to  reach 
out  for  more  effective  discipleship.  Many  a  "shut-in^'  dis- 
ciple could  do  this  work  for  the  master  and  forget  herseK  in 
interest  for  others.  The  possibilities  of  such  work  are  before 
the  public,  and  the  means  to  ends.  The  printed  page,  and  the 
conference  of  workers  over  methods  and  results,  have  made 
the  experience  of  one  so  fully  the  property  of  all,  that  only  in 
the  backwoods  or  in  some  Sleepy  Hollow  can  be  found  the 
church  that  has  not  some  one  that  knows  how  to  begin  and 
carry  forward  such  a  work.  Such  mission  circles  are  desirable. 
Successful,  they  stimulate  the  immediately  engaged  5  they  keep 
the  subject  before  the  people;  the  leaven  of  their  influence 
spreads;  and  already  are  they  an  immense  power  for  good. 
The  great  danger  is  that  lack  of  cooperation  with  pastor, 
superintendent,  teacher,  or  leader  will  bring  such  movements  to 
grief  if  attempted.  One  cannot  do  everything;  but  two  or 
three  even,  whose  hearts  beat  with  that  of  an  engaged  pastor, 
and  a  reasonable  cooperation  of  the  membership,  will  secure, 
after  a  while,  a  great  harvest. 

Through  these  organizations,  or  by  some  other  means,  the 
current  literature  of  missions  should  be  secured,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, for  every  home.  Probably  a  dollar  and  a  half  a  year 
would  secure  to  each  home  an  equipment  for  an  intelligent 
understanding  of  the  work  of  the  church  in  the  wide  field. 
And  what  a  trifling  expenditure  that  is,  and  what  a  return  it 
brings,  compared  with  the  use  made  and  the  good  gotten  from 
many  a  dollar  spent  on  cheap,  or  even  good,  secular  literature. 
Seek  first  the  kingdom,  and  begin  to  hunger  to  know  how  it 
fares  in  the  world.  Every  parish  should  be  canvassed  for  the 
missionary  periodicals  of  the  church.  The  outcome  of  these 
agencies  should  be : 

First.  More  prayer  and  more  intelligent  prayer.  This  point 
needs  frequent  emphasis.    It  will  not  care  for  itself. 


MISSION    WORK    IN    THE    WIDE    FIELD  801 

Second.  That  here  and  there  one  will  be  found  coming  for- 
ward to  say,  '^Here  am  I;  send  me."  No  better  result  is  possible. 
If  the  people  are  praying  as  the  Master  bids,  making  no  selfish 
reservations,  expecting  that  some  of  their  own  number  will  be 
prayed  into  the  field,  they  will  not  long  be  content  till  they 
have  some  representative  abroad.  And  should  one  be  forth- 
coming, let  the  event  be  hailed  as  if,  not  a  calamity,  but  a  great 
honor  had  overtaken  the  one  called.  It  will  then  be  strange 
if  another  does  not  follow. 

Third.  That  giving  will  be  more  generous,  uniform,  and 
rooted  in  principle.  This,  too,  needs  the  help  of  wise  method. 
A  chapter  might  well  be  given  to  this.  There  is  no  better 
way  than  that  of  the  weekly  offering  for  pure  benevolence,  as 
an  act  of  worship,  considered  as  a  main  dependence,  if  only 
every  man  would  set  apart  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  for 
sacred  uses,  a  definite  portion  of  his  income.  If  to  this  he  wiU 
add  "  as  the  Lord  hath  prospered  him,"  great  things  will  come 
of  it.  Anyhow,  it  is  probable  that  a  call  for  an  offering  in  the 
name  of  the  Master,  each  Lord's  day,  in  his  house,  will  bring 
out  a  greater  aggregate  of  gifts  than  any  other  method.  The 
method  next  best  may  be  special  offerings  for  the  cause  of 
missions,  mth  sermon  preceding,  and  slips  for  pledges  on  the 
spot,  or  sent  with  a  brief  appeal  to  each  member,  or  a  can- 
vasser from  house  to  house,  to  follow.  "We  believe  it  far  better, 
however,  patiently  to  educate  a  people  to  voluntary  and  con- 
scientious gi\dng,  as  an  act  of  worship  when  they  enter  God's 
house. 

Local  societies  and  bands  have  their  own  methods  of  mem- 
bership fees,  weekly  or  quarterly  offerings,  birth-day  boxes  for 
use  in  bands  or  Sunday-school  class,  and  mission  boxes  to  be 
always  in  sight  at  home,  with  their  mute  appeal,  which  inter- 
ested children  sometimes  translate  into  language  and  draw  a 
gift  from  a  visitor  or  a  friend.  Choose  the  fittest  of  them. 
Most  of  our  little  folks  depend  upon  the  family  treasm-y  for 
their  gifts.  Earning  money  should  in  every  right  way  be 
encouraged ;  and  the  success  of  some  shows  what  might  be 
done  by  many,  if  they  would.  Children's  fairs,  where  is  dis- 
played the  work  of  their  hands  for  sale,  the  best  thing  they 
just  now  can  do,  may  well  be  encouraged  generously,  both  for 
the  resulting  fund  and  for  the  impulse  given  to  the  interest 


302  THE    PEOPLE   AT    WORK 

of  young  hearts,  and  the  social  opportunity  afforded  for 
acquaintance  and  good  cheer. 

One  other  way  of  investment  seems  too  much  neglected. 
Many  a  man  who  cannot  go  himself  might  readily  undertake 
the  entire  support  of  one  who  can,  or  of  one  or  more  native 
teachers  or  preachers.  Many  a  woman  in  the  church  might 
support  a  sister  in  Christ  ready  to  go  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
Many,  out  of  the  pin-money  of  a  year,  might  keep  a  mission 
school  running  a  twelvemonth.  Many  a  class  or  band  might 
do  that  same  thing.  Something  definite  and  large  enough  to 
call  for  some  effort,  put  before  one  or  half  a  dozen,  how 
much  it  would  do  to  increase  the  gifts  and  the  interest  of  the 
givers.     Oh,  that  w^e  were  awake  to  it ! 

Men  and  money !  the  great  need,  the  only  need,  save  the 
quickening  spirit  to  give  the  increase.  The  church  has  both, 
far  beyond  all  present  noble  use,  squandered,  now,  so  greatly, 
and  that  in  the  face  of  world-needs,  so  colossal,  so  urgent. 
How  to  get  them  is  the  question.  Does  the  answer  lie  in  get- 
ting closer  to  the  Master!  Let  us  learn  to  look  with  his  eyes 
on  the  great  field,  and  to  feel  as  he  felt,  and  to  give  in  the 
spirit  of  his  giving  of  himself,  and  our  quickened  wits  and 
hearts  will  find  or  make  effective  methods. 

Note.— Missionary  boards  publish  cheap  and  good  maps,  also  magazines, 
leaflets,  sketches  of  missions,  biographies,  helps,  to  be  had  at  little  cost. 
''The  Gospel  in  all  Lands"  and  most  denominational  publications  have 
outlooks  on  the  wide  field.  The  ''  Missionary  Eeview"  is  reliable  in  sta- 
tistics and  information,  not  always  unprejudiced,  fair,  and  kind  in  spirit. 
The  "Missionary  Herald,"  March,  1880,  and  the  ''Foreign  Missionary," 
May,  1885,  have  capital  articles  on  the  monthly  concert.  Of  books  for 
church  and  Sunday-school  libraries,  suitable  for  reference  and  quickening 
to  read,  "  The  Gospel  in  all  Lands,"  October  5  and  26,  1882,  gives  a  full 
catalogue.  The  Ely  volume  shows  the  bearings  of  missions  on  science, 
trade,  the  arts,  and  the  diplomacy  of  nations. 


X 

MISSION   WORK   IN   THE   HOME   FIELD 

IN  considering  this  problem  it  is  necessary  at  the  outset 
clearly  to  distinguish  two  analogous  but  different  problems: 
that  of  church  extension  and  that  of  town  and  city  evangeli- 
zation. A  large  part  of  our  Christian  energies  have  been 
expended  on  the  first  of  these  problems  —  church  extension. 
Our  aim  has  been  to  build  up  self-supporting  churches,  to 
extend  our  denomination,  to  make  it  larger  numerically  and 
stronger  financially.  This  is  a  worthy  end  if  not  too  exclu- 
sively pursued ;  but  it  is  not  mission  work.  And  it  is  mis- 
sion work,  not  church  extension,  that  I  propose  to  consider  in 
this  chapter.  Nor  is  our  question  even  how  to  get  non- 
church-goers  to  go  to  church,  though  it  involves  that  problem : 
it  is  how  to  get  the  Gospel  into  the  hearts  and  lives  of  the 
non-church-goers.  Getting  them  to  go  to  church  is  one  way, 
but  it  is  not  the  only  way.  The  two  problems  overlap  each 
other ;  but  they  are  not  the  same  problem.  Finally,  the  con- 
ditions in  a  rural  community  are  so  widely  different  from 
those  in  the  cities  and  towns,  that  though  the  same  principles 
apply,  the  same  methods  cannot  be  used.  As  the  mission 
work  is  more  diflcult  and  most  pressing  in  our  towns,  it  is  to 
that  problem  I  address  myself  in  these  pages,  leaving  the  prin- 
ciples here  expounded  to  be  applied  by  such  methods  as  experi- 
ence may  indicate  in  the  purely  country  parish. 

The  great  difficulty  in  the  way  of  mission  work  in  the  home 
field  is  the  lack  of  a  will  to  do  it.  Where  there's  a  will  there's 
a  way.  The  problem  is  not  so  much  to  find  a  way  as  to  create 
a  wiU.  The  greatest  difficulty  lies  inside  the  church,  not  out- 
side. A  great  deal  of  discussion  on  this  subject  is  expended 
in  inquiring  how  to  do  it  without  doing  it.  We  want  to  do 
Christian  work  without  taking  up  oui*  cross  and  following 
Christ;  and  that  is  impossible.  How  can  we  do  a  mission 
work  in  the  home  field  without  self-denial?  The  answer  is 
simply,  It  cannot  be  done.     Foreign  missionary  work  not  only 

303 


304  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

can  but  must  be  done  by  proxy.     Home  missionary  work  not 
only  must  not  but  cannot  be  done  by  proxy.     There  is  no  way 
in  which  we  can  carry  the  Gospel  to  oui'  home  heathen  except 
by  carrying  it  to  them.     We  cannot  sit  in  our  slippered  ease  in 
our  own  homes,  and  worship  in  our  luxurious  religious  club- 
houses, which  we  call  churches,  and  have  our  Christian  seK- 
denial  done  for  us  by  Bible  women,  to  whom  we  pay  the  same 
monthly  wages  we  pay  our  cooks   and  chambermaids.     If 
Christianity  were  a  system  of  philosophy  we  could  hii'e  teach- 
ers to  propagate  it.     But  it  is  not  a  system  of  philosophy :  it 
is  a  life,  and  life  is  not  a  marketable  article.    Life  is  self- 
propagating.     Only  life  begets  life.    You  cannot  hire  a  city 
missionary  to  carry  it  about  for  you.     Religion  has  no  middle- 
men.    The  power  of  Christianity  is  the  power  of  a  Divine 
Personality.     Christ  communicates  it  to  his  followers  -,  his 
followers  must  communicate  it  to  others.     ^^Lord,  make  us 
fishers  of  men."    ^'Follow  me,  and  I  will  make  you  fishers  of 
men."     "  Nay,  Lord,  let  me  stay  with  my  boat  and  my  nets 
and  still  be  a  fisher  of  men."     The  minister  preaches  a  home 
missionary  sermon ;  the  church-member  drops  a  nickel  in  the 
contribution  plate   and   repeats,  with   a   difference,  Isaiah's 
proffer,  '^  Here,  Lord,  am  I ;  send  hmiJ'     Christ  asks  for  our 
services  and  we  give  him  our  sixpences.    We  not  only  try  to 
buy  substitutes,  but  we  expect  to  get  them  very  cheap.    Christ 
has  interpreted  the  meaning  of  '^  Follow  me."    He  did  not 
send  the  Gospel  by  a  deputed  missionary :    he  brought  it 
himself.     The  difference  between  Christianity  and  all  other 
religions  is  not  ethical  nor  even  theological :  it  is  the  incarna- 
tion.     Christianity  is  truth  in  action;  truth  embodied  in  a 
life.    The  Son  of  God  brings  the  life  to  earth ;  he  does  not' 
send  it.     And  then  he  bids  us  not  only  to  receive  it,  but  to 
carry  it  ourselves  and  by  personal  contact  to  others.     Light 
and  heat  do  not  leap  from  torch  to  torch.     The  live  torch 
must  come  in  contact  with  the  unkindled  one  in  order  to  kin- 
dle it.     While  all  piety  remains  in  cultivated  churches  and 
impiety  abides  in  the  streets  and  the  saloons,  the  piety  will 
not  be  communicated.    Either  the  churches  must  go  out  to  the 
streets  and  the  saloons,  or  the  streets  and  saloons  must  be 
brought  into  the  churches.    I  lay  emphasis  with  reiteration 


MISSION    WORK    IN    THE    HOME    FIELD  305 

on  this  simple  truth,  because,  simple  as  it  is,  it  seems  to  me  to 
be  ignored  not  only  in  our  action,  but  in  much  of  our  discus- 
sion. We  cannot  keep  aU  our  electricity  in  Leyden  jars  and 
have  it  light  the  world.  The  church  must  be  willing  to  lose 
its  life  in  order  to  gain  it.  Whenever  a  church  really  pos- 
sesses the  spirit  of  Christ,  whenever  its  members  are  willing 
on  the  one  hand  to  welcome  to  their  own  fellowship  those  not 
of  their  ^'  set,"  and  on  the  other  hand  to  go  out  of  their  ^'  set " 
in  order  to  come  in  personal  contact  with  the  publicans  and  sin- 
ners, they  can  always  find  a  way  to  accomplish  their  purpose. 
What  surprised  the  Pharisees  was  that  Christ  went  in  unto 
the  publicans  and  sinners  and  ate  with  them.  He  associated 
with  them  on  terms  of  social  equality  though  of  spiritual 
inequality.  Whenever  his  disciples  are  willing  to  do  as  he 
did,  they  can  accomplish  his  deeds ;  and  never  otherwise. 

One  other  principle  must  be  borne  in  mind  in  all  mission 
work  in  home  fields.  The  aim  of  society  is  not  the  individual : 
it  is  the  family.  A  regiment  is  not  made  up  of  individuals, 
but  of  companies ;  a  Christian  society  is  not  made  up  of  individ- 
uals, but  of  households.  The  disintegration  of  Rome  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Christian  era,  and  of  France  in  the  close  of  the 
last  century,  was  primarily  due  to  causes  w^hich  had  disinte- 
grated the  household.  The  end  of  mission  work  must  be  the 
home.  A  Christian  community  can  only  be  built  of  Christian 
homes.  A  mission  hall  with  a  leader  singing,  praying,  speak- 
ing, and  a  perpetually  shifting  audience  of  tramps  and  vaga- 
bonds bear  about  the  same  relation  to  the  spiritual  edification 
of  the  community  that  a  soup-house  does  to  its  permanent  en- 
richment. Either  may  be  a  temporary  necessity ;  but  it  is  weU 
in  either  case  if  the  charity  does  not  pauperize.  Soup-house 
mission  work  is  the  poorest  of  all  mission  work.  Society  is 
an  aggregation  of  crystals ;  the  home  is  the  crystal  unit ;  with- 
out that,  the  crystallization  cannot  go  on.  Mission  work  in 
home  fields  therefore  involves  a  great  variety  of  problems. 
It  involves  Christianizing  the  landlords  into  giving  such 
accommodations  as  will  make  home  life  feasible ;  it  involves 
if  not  abolishing  at  least  regulating  the  tenement  house  sys- 
tem ;  it  involves  teaching  girls  how  to  keep  hcmse,  and  so  to 
become  home-makers;  it  involves  a  resolute,  determined, 
20 


306  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

united,  undying,  uncompromising  hostility  to  everything  that 
threatens  the  integrity  of  the  home :  bad  tenements,  bad  food, 
bad  scenery,  open  liquor  shops,  free  divorces.  A  great  city,  or 
even  a  moderately  sized  but  compact  town,  cannot  be  way- 
laid by  a  Salvation  Army,  or  city  missions,  or  Bible  women 
among  the  poor.  This  ought  ye  to  have  done,  but  not  to  have 
left  the  other  undone. 

These  two  principles,  I  believe,  must  be  recognized  and 
apphed  in  all  mission  work  in  home  fields :  personal  contact 
is  the  power;  Christian  households  are  the  end.  Where  a 
church  possesses  richly  the  spirit  indicated  in  the  first  state- 
ment, and  sees  clearly  the  object  indicated  in  the  second, 
it  will  always  find  methods  open  to  it.  In  what  follows  I 
shall  simply  attempt  to  illustrate  these  principles  in  indicat- 
ing some  of  the  methods  to  which  they  will  naturally  if  not 
inevitably  lead. 

First  The  church  which  is  possessed  of  a  live  missionary 
spirit  win  not  attempt  to  establish  a  mission  outside  until  it 
has  exhausted  its  own  church  resources  for  missionary  work. 
The  aim  should  always  be  to  make  the  home  school  a  mission 
school,  and  the  home  church  a  mission  church.  It  is  not  accord- 
ing to  the  law  of  God's  kingdom  that  the  rich  saints  should 
meet  under  one  roof  and  the  poor  sinners  under  another. 
If  I  may  quote  from  myseK,  we  put  all  our  dough  in  one  pan, 
and  all  our  yeast  m  another,  and  wonder  that  the  dough  does 
not  rise.  Geographical  considerations  sometimes  compel  such 
a  division;  merely  social  considerations  never  should  be 
allowed  to  do  so.  The  first  step  in  mission  work  in  the  home 
field  is  to  get  the  non-church-goer  into  the  home  church  and 
the  non-Sunday-school-goer  into  the  home  Sunday-school. 
Our  Roman  Catholic  brethren  teach  us  a  lesson  in  this 
respect.  They  hold  an  early  Mass  for  the  servants  and  serv- 
ant girls,  and  a  later  Mass  for  the  masters  and  mistresses  in 
the  same  church  buUding.  They  have  few  or  no  mission 
chapels.  On  the  mere  ground  of  economy,  it  is  an  absurd 
waste  to  put  from  fifty  thousand  dollars  to  half  a  million  in  a 
church  which  is  open  only  three  hours  in  the  week  and  full 
only  for  an  hour  and  a  half,  and  then  to  spend  ten  or  twenty 
thousand  more  in  building  a  chapel  round  the  corner  for 


MISSION    WORK    IN    THE    HOME    FIELD  307 

"poor  relations."  The  radical  reform  we  really  need,  in  many- 
cases,  is  to  put  the  church  where  it  will  be  accessible  to  the 
poor,  and  let  the  rich  drive  to  it  in  their  carriages  j  but  that 
day  is  so  far  off  that  it  is  idle  to  talk  about  it  here.  Without 
any  such  radical  reform  as  that,  we  can  make  our  churches  a 
center  of  mission  work  where  the  rich  and  poor  meet  together, 
and  recognize  the  Lord  as  maker  of  them  both.  Until  very 
recently  I  have  been  inclined  to  suppose  that  the  poor  would 
not  be  welcomed  in  our  rich  churches ;  but  a  recent  experience 
seems  to  demonstrate  the  error  of  that  supposition.  The 
"  Christian  Union  "  sent  a  reporter  around  to  different  wealth}^ 
and  aristocratic  churches  in  New  York  City:  he  was  dressed 
shabbily  as  a  working-man  out  of  employment  might  have 
been ;  decent,  but  decidedly  seedy.  But  he  was  everywhere 
welcomed  and  shown  a  good  seat.  The  spirit  of  the  churches 
is  not  lacking  in  that  sort  of  negative  hospitality  which  opens 
the  door  to  one  who  knocks.  But  that  is  not  enough.  "Behold, 
I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock,"  says  Christ.  If  we  are  to  fol- 
low his  example,  we  must  not  wait  for  home  heathen  to 
knock  at  our  doors ;  we  must  knock  at  theirs,  and,  if  it  be 
necessary,  wait  long  and  patiently  for  a  "  Come  in." 

Second.  If  we  mean  to  make  our  churches  home  missionary 
churches,  as  every  church  ought  to  be,  we  must  make  the  pews 
free.  The  question  of  the  financial  support  of  the  church  is  a 
large  question,  doubtless  discussed  elsewhere  in  this  volume. 
It  must  suffice  to  say  here  that  we  cannot  expect  the  heathen 
to  pay  for  their  own  conversion.  The  question  is  not  whether 
the  poor  can  afford  to  pay  pew-rents,  though  in  many  cases 
they  cannot.  When  the  necessary  expense  of  transportation, 
even  in  a  street-car,  of  dress,  in  order  to  present  a  reputable 
appearance,  and  of  pew-rent  is  taken  into  consideration,  the 
church  often  becomes  too  expensive  a  luxury  for  the  man  who 
is  earning  only  from  eight  hundred  to  a  thousand  dollars  a 
year,  to  say  nothing  of  the  dollar-a-day  man.  The  real  ques- 
tion, however,  is  not  one  of  pews,  but  one  of  character ;  it  is 
not  whether  the  poor  can  afford  to  pay  pew  rent,  but  whether 
the  godless  can  be  expected  to  do  so.  The  question  here  dis- 
cussed is  not  how  to  get  poor  and  pious  men  into  church, 
but  how  to  get  the  Gospel  into  godless  men.     And  the  first 


308  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

step  is  to  open  our  churches  to  the  godless.  Ho !  every  one 
that  thirsteth,  come  ye  and  buy  wine  and  milk  with  thii^ty  to 
three  hundred  dollars  a  year,  is  the  modern  church  version  of 
Isaiah's  invitation.  If  the  chui'ch  cannot  see  its  way  to  abolish 
pew  rents  altogether,  let  it  abolish  them  for  the  second  service. 
To  say  our  pews  are  "  practically  free,"  there  is  plenty  of 
room,  every  one  is  welcome,  is  not  enough.  They  must  be 
actually  and  literally  free.  A  number  of  years  ago  I  was 
walking  with  my  little  boy  in  New  York  City.  "  Papa,  is  this 
OH)'  church  ?''  he  said,  as  we  went  by  it.  ^' Yes,"  I  replied. 
"  And  whose  church  is  that  ? "  asked  he,  as  we  presently  came 
upon  another.  "That  is  Dr.  Hastings'  church,"  I  replied. 
^'  And  whose  is  that  ? "  he  asked,  pointing  across  the  square. 
"  That  is  Mr.  Fro  thin  gham's."  He  thought  a  moment,  then 
startled  me  with  the  question,  "  Papa,  where  is  God's  church  ?  " 
Sure  enough ;  where  is  it  ?  The  pewed  church  is  the  prop- 
erty of  a  private  corporation.  It  may  welcome  strangers, 
but  they  are  still  strangers.  It  is  not  God's  church.  When 
the  pews  are  free,  the  church  is  usually  full.  Dr.  Muhlenberg's 
chiu^ch  never  lacked  a  crowded  congregation.  This  was  not 
wholly  due  to  the  fame  of  the  pastor  -,  for  it  has  had  less  fa- 
mous pastors  since,  and  has  always  been  full.  When  Dr.  Rains- 
ford  took  the  rectorship  of  St.  George's  in  New  York  City,  it 
was  on  condition  that  the  pews  should  be  free.  The  sparse 
congregation  of  wealthy  worshipers  has  changed  into  a 
throng  which  fills  the  large  church  almost  to  its  utmost  capac- 
ity. Dr.  Rainsf ord  is,  it  is  true,  a  most  effective  preacher ; 
but  not  more  eloquent  than  many  a  man  who  preaches  to  haK- 
filled  owned  or  rented  pew^s.  The  Methodist  churches  thi-ough- 
out  the  country  are,  as  a  rule,  the  missionary  churches  of 
their  \'icinage  ;  their  pews  are,  as  a  rule,  free.  I  recall  thi-ee 
chui-ches  within  my  personal  knowledge,  two  of  which  are 
wealthy  and  aristocratic,  w^here  evening  congregations  have 
been  made  measurably  large,  multiplied  three  or  four  fold, 
in  one  case  by  tenfold,  without  a  change  of  pastor,  since 
the  pews  were  made  free.  Making  the  pews  free  did  not 
alone  accomplish  it;  but  making  the  pews  free,  and  the 
spirit  in  pastor  and  people  which  that  change  indicated,  did 
accomplish  it. 


MISSION'   WORK    IN    THE    HOME    FIELD  309 

Third.  Merely  opening  the  doors, however,  is  not  enough.  The 
church  that  means  to  do  a  missionary  work  in  its  home  fiekl 
must  go  out  into  the  highways  and  hedges  and  compel  the  peo- 
ple to  come  in ;  and  that  word  coinpel,  which  is  our  Lord's, 
indicates  that  this  requires  patience,  persistent  effort  under 
various  discouragement.  It  is  not  true  that  the  heart  of  man 
resists  all  enticement  to  goodness ;  but  it  is  true  that  it  does 
not  seek  for  it  as  for  hid  treasure.  Open  a  liquor  shop,  and 
the  customers  will  swarm  in ;  open  a  school,  a  reading-room, 
or  a  church,  and  they  must  be  brought  in.  Dr.  Strong,  of 
Cincinnati,  in  a  church  in  the  most  discouraging  location  in 
that  most  discouraging  of  cities,  with  open  liquor  shops  and 
theaters  all  about  him,  brought  his  Sabbath  evening  congrega- 
tion up  from  twenty-five  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  by  making 
the  seats  free  and  organizing  a  force  of  young  men  who  went 
out  half  an  hour  or  so  before  service  and  invited  the  loung- 
ers on  the  streets  to  come  with  them  to  their  church.  Neither 
free  pews  without  an  invitation  nor  an  invitation  to  a  mis- 
sion would  have  had  any  such  success.  This  is  one  method, 
but  it  is  only  one  of  many.  I  know  a  clergyman  who,  going 
to  a  manufacturing  town,  within  a  week  or  two  after  his 
arrival  overtook  a  small  boy  wheeling  a  heavy  wheel-bar- 
row-load along  the  sidew^alk  and  stopped  at  the  curbstone. 
He  put  his  ministerial  dignity  in  his  pocket,  took  the  wheel- 
barrow from  the  boy,  wheeled  it  home  for  him,  invited  him 
to  the  church  Sunday-school,  and  —  to  make  a  long  story 
short  —  in  three  months'  time  had  his  church  well  filled  with 
working-people  and  his  Sunday-school  with  their  children. 
There  is  no  one  method  of  compelling  them  to  come  in.  The 
church  chimes  ring  many  tunes ;  but  they  all  say,  Come,  and 
welcome. 

The  best  of  all  ways,  however,  to  get  a  family  into  church 
is  to  get  the  children  into  Sunday-school ;  the  quickest  way  to 
get  the  Gospel  into  old  hearts  is  to  get  it  into  the  hearts  of  the 
children.  AU  permanent  mission  work  in  the  home  field  has 
been  connected  with  and  most  of  it  has  grown  out  of  mission 
work  among  the  children.  This  opens  the  w^hole  subject  of 
Sunday-school  work,  a  subject  too  large  to  be  entered  on  here. 
It  must  suffice  to  say  that  if  the  family  is  the  unit  and  the 


310  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

Christian  home  is  the  end  of  Christian  mission s^  the  nearer  we 
can  get  to  the  cradle  in  our  work  the  quicker  we  shall  get  that 
work  accomplished.     "  A  little  child  shall  lead  them." 

These  suggestions  may  seem  somewhat  commonplace  to  my 
readers ;  but  the  truth  is  that  there  are  no  novel  methods  for 
carrying  the  Gospel  to  our  home  heathen.  What  we  need  is 
not  new  methods,  but  newness  of  spirit.  When  that  spirit  is 
in  the  heart  of  the  pastor  and  his  people ;  when  they  have  the 
heart  of  Him  who  came  to  seek  as  well  as  to  save  that  which 
was  lost;  when  they  regard  the  church  as  a  missionary  organi- 
zation, and  no  church  a  true  church  of  Christ  that  has  not  a 
missionary  spirit  in  it ;  when  they  count  their  wealth  not  by 
the  dollars  in  the  treasury,  but  by  the  souls  iu  the  congregation 
and  the  spii-itual  life  in  the  church, — when  the  church  ceases  to 
be  a  social  organization  with  a  lecture  platform  at  one  end  and 
a  social  concert  at  the  other,  and  becomes  a  worshiping  and 
working  organization,  in  which  the  spirit  of  a  living  and  life- 
giving  Christ  is  again  incarnate,  the  will  to  do  will  find  a  way 
to  do,  and  the  church  will  no  longer  be  perplexed  by  the  prob- 
lem of  its  mission  work  in  the  home  field. 


XI 

EVANGELISTIC  WORK 

THAT  an  evangelizing  ehurcli  is  what  Christ  wants  can- 
not be  doubted.  His  last  commission  implies  that  we 
are  not  only  to  send  the  Gospel  to  all  men,  but  are  to  send  it 
home  to  them  with  such  pungency  and  power  as  to  make  dis- 
ciples of  them.  One  of  the  important  ends  of  a  church  is  to 
make  Christians.  It  is  to  help  people  to  a  clear  and  vital 
faith  in  Christ,  and  bring  them  to  the  point  of  confessing 
their  faith  by  openly  enlisting  in  the  service  of  Christ.  It  is 
important,  therefore,  that  a  church  should  keep  constantly 
before  it  the  fact  that  the  work  of  ingathering  is  its  first  duty ; 
afterward  comes  the  work  of  training,  upbuilding,  and  direct- 
ing in  ways  of  usefulness. 

A  deeply  evangelistic  spirit,  then,  should  pervade  its  ordi- 
nary and  regular  work.  It  should  be  watching  and  working 
for  souls  continually.  It  must  take  care  not  to  make  religion 
a  luxury,  and  not  to  let  the  aesthetics  of  the  church  become 
anaesthetics.  A  company  of  worshipers  may  easily  become  so 
intent  on  merely  pleasing  themselves,  that  their  spiritual 
powers  are  benumbed  and  their  spiritual  effectiveness 
destroyed.  But  this  will  not  be  apt  to  occur  if  both  pastor 
and  people  have  their  hearts  set  upon  making  disciples.  The 
sermons,  while  not  neglecting  other  phases  of  instruction, 
will  aim  at  constant  conversions.  The  Sunday-school  and 
social  meetings  will  be  harvest-fields,  where  the  good  seed  is 
expected  to  produce  ripe  grain,  and  where  the  sickle  is  often 
thrust  in  to  garner  the  sheaves.  If  the  field  be  faithfully 
worked  for  ingatherings,  it  will  yield  constant  returns. 

An  evangelizing  church,  however,  wdll  not  be  satisfied  with 
work  done  for  the  select  circle  of  its  regular  attendants  alone. 
In  every  community  there  is  a  large  floating  population,  hav- 
ing no  close  connection  with  any  church,  and  yet  quite  sus- 
ceptible to  the  influences  which  an  aggressive  and  thoroughly 
earnest  church  may  bring  to  bear  upon  it.     Some  churches 

311 


312  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

have,  with  good  success,  transformed  the  Sunday  evening 
meeting  into  a  special  evangelistic  service  to  attract  and  ben- 
efit this  class.  The  seats  are  made  free  to  all ;  attentive  and 
courteous  ushers  give  a  hearty  welcome  to  all,  and  conduct 
them  to  the  best  seats  to  be  had ;  the  chui'ch-members  take 
pains  to  show  a  cordial  sympathy  with  their  guests,  and  to 
make  them  feel  entirely  at  home.  The  opening  half -hour  is 
chiefly  a  service  of  song,  and  consists  largely  of  those  spiiited, 
tender,  and  melodious  religious  ballads  that  we  call  ''  Gospel 
Songs.''  Sometimes  a  single  impressive  voice  sends  home  the 
Gospel  message  by  a  solo ;  again,  the  large  chorus  of  fresh, 
vigorous  voices  unites  in  some  rousing  song  with  a  stirring 
refrain,  or  leads  the  whole  congregation  in  a  familiar  hymn. 
Interspersed  with  these  abundant  songs  are  brief  ScrijDture 
readings  and  prayers.  When  the  sermon  comes,  it  is  a  short, 
direct,  and  amply  illustrated  address  on  practical  religion, 
setting  forth  those  fundamental  truths  that  lie  at  the  very 
threshold  of  the  Christian  life,  and  setting  them  forth  so  viv- 
idly as  to  move  men  to  feeling  and  action.  The  main  service 
of  the  evening  is  followed  by  an  after-meeting  for  testimonies, 
prayer,  and  personal  appeal  on  the  part  of  Christians.  And 
the  "  drawing  of  the  net "  in  the  after-meeting  often  discloses 
the  fact  that  several  have  been  brought  to  a  decision  to  enter 
earnestly  upon  a  Christian  life  by  the  services  of  the  evening. 

But  experience  shows  that  there  are  periods  when  the  inter- 
est in  religion  is  much  greater  than  at  other  times.  There  are 
seasons  when  the  tide  of  feeling  rises  higher,  and  the  motives 
to  action  are  more  deeply  felt  than  usual.  In  ordinary  times 
there  are  many  who  seem  to  be  at  the  very  entrance  of  the 
Christian  hfe,  but  are  not  quite  able  to  make  the  port.  They 
are  aground  upon  some  sand-bar  of  petty  objection,  or 
becalmed  by  lack  of  feeling,  or  they  beat  up  and  down  in  the 
offing  in  unhappy  indecision.  But  when  the  tide  rises,  and 
the  favoring  breeze  begins  to  blow,  these  stick-fasts  and 
waverers  are  easily  brought  into  the  harbor. 

The  church  should  welcome  these  periodic  revival  occasions 
when  they  come  naturally,  as  affording  it  a  special  opportu- 
nity for  its  proper  work.  Sometimes,  indeed,  these  occasions 
have  been  abused  by  ignorant  and  unwise  leaders.   Sometimes 


EVANGELISTIC    WORK  313 

they  have  used  exaggerated  statements  of  doctrines  or  gross 
sensationism  to  stampede  men  into  the  kingdom  of  Heaven 
under  a  panic  of  fear  or  through  the  common  impulse  of 
the  crowd.  The  result  is  an  explosion  of  passional  excitement 
rather  than  a  genuine  arousing  of  the  religious  nature.  And 
the  reaction  that  follows  such  a  spurious  work  brings  a  deep 
distaste  for  religion,  and  a  greater  unwillingness  to  listen  to 
its  appeals  and  engage  in  its  duties.  We  need  to  be  on  our 
guard  against  any  such  misuse  of  the  opportunity. 

But  there  is  no  need  of  any  such  extravagance  or  undue 
excitement  in  these  special  evangelizing  seasons.  They  have 
been  approved  and  successfully  used  by  many  of  the  ablest 
and  wisest  leaders  in  the  church.  Jonathan  Edwards  and 
John  Wesley,  Dr.  Edward  N.  Kirk  and  President  Finney,  were 
conspicuous  for  learning,  intellectual  power,  and  practical  sa- 
gacity, and  they  were  all  famous  revivalists.  Newell,  Judson, 
Rice,  Mills,  the  pioneers  of  our  great  modern  missionary 
movement,  were  the  fruits  of  a  revival,  and  regarded  this  as 
one  of  the  chief  agencies  for  converting  the  world.  The  best 
modern  evangelists  handle  the  truth  of  Scripture  with  sober- 
ness and  with  rare  practical  wisdom,  and  make  only  legitimate 
appeals  to  the  emotions.  Dr.  Albert  Barnes  insisted  upon 
the  entire  naturalness  of  this  method,  when  wisely  used,  say- 
ing :  "  Take  the  case  of  a  single  true  conversion  to  God,  and 
extend  it  to  a  community,  to  mcuuj  individuals  passing  through 
that  change,  and  you  have  all  the  theory  of  a  revival  of 
religion.  It  is  bringing  together  many  conversions  ;  arresting 
simultaneously  many  minds ;  perhaps  condensing  into  a  single 
place,  and  into  a  few  weeks,  the  ordinary  work  of  many 
distant  places  and  many  years.'' 

No  work  is  more  germane  to  the  true  object  of  a  church 
than  that  which  seeks  to  develop  this  special  interest.  What 
is  the  end  aimed  at  f  It  is  to  concentrate  the  thought  of  a 
community  upon  the  sublime  and  eternal  realities  of  the  spir- 
itual life.  It  is  to  get  men  to  see  more  vividly,  and  feel  more 
intensely,  the  supreme  needs  of  the  soul,  and  to  understand 
the  provision  which  God  has  made  for  those  needs.  If  they 
will  but  halt  in  their  business  or  pleasure  long  enough  to  see 
distinctly  the  momentous  truths  implied  in  the  word  salva- 


314  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

tion,  the  sight  will  develop  a  motive  power  in  the  heart  that 
wiU  bring  them  to  Christ.  The  church  furnishes  the  occasion 
and  the  opportunity  for  this  by  such  special  evangelistic 
services. 

A  fit  time  for  such  special  effort  should  be  sought,  which  is 
likely  to  be  most  favorable  for  enlisting  the  attention  and 
interest  of  people.  Undoubtedly  the  Holy  Spirit  can  move 
upon  the  hearts  of  men  in  the  summer  as  weU  as  in  the  winter ; 
but  as  a  matter  of  fact  more  conversions  occur  in  the  cooler 
months,  and  the  winter  and  spring  are  apt  to  be  the  climax  of 
the  year  in  this  regard.  There  are  certain  weeks  which  cir- 
cumstances seem  to  make  specially  suitable  for  the  inaugura- 
tion of  such  efforts.  The  "week  of  prayer '^  at  the  very 
opening  of  the  year  being  set  apart,  by  common  consent  of  a 
large  part  of  the  Christian  world,  for  special  devotional  ser- 
vices, has  often  been  turned  to  good  account  by  making  its 
meetings  evangelistic  in  character.  The  interest  thus  awak- 
ened has  been  deepened  and  extended  by  continuing  the  meet- 
ings till  the  entire  month  and  sometimes  the  whole  midwinter 
season  has  become  a  Pentecostal  time,  with  many  conversions. 
Perhaps  a  period  even  more  favorable  for  such  a  service  is 
the  Lenten  season,  when  abstention  from  gayety  and  pleasures 
on  the  part  of  a  large  portion  of  the  Christian  world  induces 
a  social  quiet  and  thoughtfulness,  which  is  peculiarly  suited 
to  the  introduction  of  religious  themes.  The  attention  of 
men  is  more  easily  arrested  then ;  there  are  fewer  diversions 
to  distract  their  thoughts  when  once  turned  to  these  moment- 
ous questions ;  and  the  sacred  and  touching  events  in  the  life 
of  our  Saviour  which  are  associated  with  the  observance  of 
this  season  render  it  a  particularly  fitting  and  impressive 
time  for  evangelistic  meetings.  The  very  days  speak  of  peni- 
tence, of  consecration,  and  of  grateful  devotion  to  Christ.  If 
the  non-liturgical  churches  should  all,  with  one  consent,  unite 
in  making  Lent  a  period  for  special  evangelistic  meetings,  it 
can  hardly  be  doubted  that  multitudes  of  conversions  would 
result. 

The  success  of  such  meetings  will  depend  much  upon  care- 
ful and  thorough  preparation  for  them.  The  entire  Christian 
force  of  the  church  ought  to  be  enlisted  in  active  cooperation 


EVANGELISTIC    WORK  315 

for  the  work.  A  preliminary  visitation  of  the  entire  mem- 
bership of  the  church  is  often  useful,  to  inform  each  one  of 
the  work  in  prospect,  and  to  pledge  the  presence  and  active 
service  of  each  one  in  the  meetings.  Meetings  for  prayer  and 
reconsecration,  and  the  study  of  such  truths  as  are  specially 
pertinent  to  the  work  should  be  held,  in  order  that  the  church 
itself  may  approach  the  effort  for  soul- winning  with  a  great 
glow  of  interest  and  expectation,  and  readiness  for  service. 

Shall  an  evangelist  be  called  in  ?  Sometimes  this  will  not 
be  necessary.  Where  the  pastor  has  but  recently  entered  on 
the  jB.eld,  and  his  voice  and  method  have  stilL  a  fresh  interest 
to  the  people,  it  is  wiser  to  have  the  work  carried  on  by  the 
pastor  and  people  by  themselves.  It  is  then  but  the  natural 
development  of  the  regular  work.  But  sometimes  the  pastor 
feels  that  he  has  no  gift  for  this  special  work ;  or  that  a  new 
voice  and  method  for  the  occasion  would,  on  account  of  its 
novelty,  awaken  new  interest ;  or  in  a  union  effort,  in  which 
several  churches  unite,  no  one  of  the  pastors  likes  to  assume 
direction  of  it.  There  should  then  be  no  hesitation  about 
calling  in  a  neighboring  pastor  for  the  occasion,  or  an  evan- 
gelist whose  gifts  and  experience  specially  adapt  him  for  such 
work.  The  pastor  or  pastors  are  then  left  free  for  direct  pas- 
toral work.  Care  should  be  taken  in  selecting  an  evangelist 
to  secure  a  sound,  sensible,  spiritual  man,  whose  fervid  emo- 
tions are  well  balanced  by  practical  wisdom  and  an  unselfish 
spirit. 

Those  who  have  had  unusual  success  in  such  meetings,  like 
Mr.  Moody,  lay  great  stress  upon  the  singing.  This  melts  the 
icy  hearts,  and  breaks  up  the  hard  crust  of  indifference,  and 
gets  the  soil  ready  for  the  good  seed  of  the  Word.  It  is  of 
great  assistance  to  have  one  singer  whose  rendering  of  the 
tender,  persuasive,  and  heart-moving  songs  can  thrill  aU 
hearers.  But  a  large,  vigorous  chorus  is  also  much  to  be 
desired  for  the  spirited  and  effective  rendering  of  other  songs. 
And  much  of  the  singing  should  be  by  the  entire  congre- 
gation, and  should  be  such  as  they  enjoy  and  will  join  in 
heartily.  Care  should  be  taken,  however,  not  to  employ 
words  or  music  which  are  either  trivial  or  mere  gushing 
sentimentalism. 


316  THE    PEOPLE   AT    WORK 

At  every  stage  in  the  movement  success  will  tnrn  largely 
on  the  readiness  of  church  members  for  the  work.  If  they 
seize  promptly  every  opportunity  for  usefulness,  the  work 
will  go  forward  with  strength.  As  Dr.  Cuyler  says,  the  great 
need  is  "  more  sermons  in  shoes."  They  must  be  ready  to  go 
out  with  cordial  invitations  and  bring  people  to  the  meetings  j 
be  prompt  and  regular  in  their  own  attendance  -,  be  attentive 
and  hospitable  toward  the  strangers  who  come  j  join  heartily 
in  the  singing;  be  alert  to  offer  a  word  of  Scripture,  testi- 
mony, a  prayer  when  needed;  be  quick  to  note  and  encourage 
any  sign  of  interest  in  others ;  be  ready  with  personal  conver- 
sation to  help  into  the  light  those  struggling  toward  it ;  in 
short,  be  minute-men,  prompt  to  render  every  service  needed 
to  make  the  effort  a  success.  Live  Christians  make  live  meet- 
ings. The  contagion  of  their  enthusiastic  devotion  will 
spread ;  the  fire  in  their  hearts  will  kindle  many  others. 

Do  not  protract  these  special  meetings  till  the  people  are 
worn  out.  It  is  a  mistake  to  hold  on  till  pastor,  church,  and 
community  are  all  exhausted.  It  is  better  to  stop  while  the 
interest  is  at  flood-tide,  and  then  carry  the  evangelistic  spirit 
awakened  into  the  regular  meetings  and  works  of  the  church. 


XII 
THE  NEEDS  OF  THE  COUNTRY  CHURCHES 

CERTAIN  faults  and  defects  are  largely  peculiar  to  country 
churches.  If  we  of  the  country  are  called  to  the  confes- 
sional, we  must  confess  that  we,  very  possibly  more  than 
others,  have  failed  to  entertain  a  sufficiently  high  and  true 
conception  of  the  church — what  it  is  for.  And  this  is  our 
gi'eat,  inclusive  need,  to  gain  in  this  respect  a  true  ideal.  We 
have  perhaps  regarded  the  church  too  much  as  a  safe  recep- 
tacle for  the  quiet  repose  of  souls  rather  than  as  an  engine 
for  the  accomplishment  of  a  purpose  —  a  combination  of  per- 
sonal energies  in  order  to  a  vast  and  ever  widening  work. 
Accordingly,  we  of  the  rural  districts  are  too  apt  to  think  of 
our  churches  as  something  to  be  kept  in  existence,  rather  than 
to  be  kept  on  the  increase.  We  hardly  realize  that  every 
church  of  Christ  has  a  legitimate  right  to  win  a  noble  and 
increasing  predominance  in  the  community  to  which  it  minis- 
ters :  that  Christ  has  a  right  to  every  human  soul  in  that  com- 
munity, and  that  the  church  is  his  appointed  agent  to  win 
every  soul.  We  are  too  prone  to  view  the  church  as  a  humble 
pensioner  upon  the  community,  hat  in  hand,  begging  to  be 
supported.  What  we  need  is  to  see  in  the  church  the  divine 
institution  which  is  to  bestow  upon  men  the  greatest  of  gifts, 
and  which  lays  men  under  obligation  :  which  seeks  not  honor 
from  men,  but  rather  confers  honor. 

We  need  this  high  ideal  of  the  church,  in  order  to  the  best 
result  in  our  local  work.  Not  a  begging  church,  but  a  giving 
church,  will  command  victory.  But  not  alone  for  our  home 
work  do  we  need  this.  Our  king  has  a  great,  world-wide 
campaign  on  hand.  As  the  mountain  spring  is  to  the  mighty 
river  that  sweeps  toward  the  sea,  so  the  local  church  should 
be  to  the  great  onward  movement  of  Christ's  cause  in  the  wide 
world:  a  source  of  helpful  supply,  according  to  its  ability. 
We  need  to  conceive  of  the  church  in  this  way.  It  is  the 
King's  recruiting  station.    It  is  his  depot  of  supplies.     It  is  to 

317 


318  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

win  for  him  at  home,  that  it  may  have  wherewith  eagerly  to 
help  on  the  work  abroad,  till  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  are 
merged  in  the  kingdom  of  onr  Lord. 

From  onr  circumstances,  we  of  the  country  are  liable  to  fall 
short  of  this  needful  ideal  of  the  church.  In  the  city  it  may 
be  otherwise.  The  bounding  life  of  the  city,  the  commonness 
of  vast  enterprises,  the  visible  and  tangible  bigness  of  things 
in  hand,  the  instant  converse  with  all  the  broad  world, —  all 
this  ought  to  make  it  easy  for  the  nrban  Christian  to  entertain 
correspondingly  grand  conceptions  of  the  church  and  its  work. 
But  in  the  country  our  horizon  is  narrower.  Our  undertak- 
ings are  on  no  gigantic  scale.  The  results  of  our  material 
labor,  though  immense  in  aggregate,  are  wrought  so  nearly 
in  the  silence  of  nature's  work  that  there  is  no  startling  or 
broadening  effect  upon  the  mind.  As  we  do  not  even  observe 
the  titanic  energy  which  beneath  our  very  eyes  is  heaving 
toward  the  sky  the  almost  infinite  weight  of  the  season's 
growth,  so  we  do  not  note  the  immensity  of  the  results  of  our 
own  labor  in  tilling  the  soil.  We  are  occupied  with  little 
things.  The  effect  is  —  unless,  forewarned,  we  exert  our- 
selves to  the  contrary  —  that  all  our  ideas  are  narrowed. 

To  prevent  this,  we  need  to  study  day  by  day  the  progress 
of  the  work  of  Christ  at  large.  We  can  only  do  this  by  tak- 
ing and  reading  the  religious  periodicals  —  a  thing  now  all 
but  universally  neglected  in  country  churches.  We  are  proud 
to  say  that  the  periodicals  that  tell  of  farming  and  stock- 
growing  are  on  onr  farm-house  tables.  We  find  time  also  to 
attend  the  farmer's  institute,  and  enjoy  the  spicy  teaching  of 
the  men  who  take  a  broad  view  of  agriculture.  Fashion 
monthlies  we  must  also  have,  or  there  would  be  no  peace  at 
home.  The  county  paper,  too,  with  patent  insides,  often  two 
or  three  such.  We  must  have  the  gossip  of  the  connty,  of 
course.  Of  late  we  are  even  taking  the  daily  from  our  neigh- 
boring city.  It  would  hardly  do  to  let  the  base-ball  match  get 
away.  And  if  we  should  fail  to  keep  informed  as  to  each  day's 
cyclones,  floods,  fires,  robberies,  murders,  or  lose  the  sanguin- 
ary particulars,  why,  life  would  be  dreary  enough.  But  when 
it  comes  to  knowing  what  the  King  of  kings  is  doing  in  the 
world,  a  great  many  of  us  have  a  stock  of  excuses  ready. 


THE  NEEDS  OF  THE  COUNTRY  CHURCHES  319 

^^We  take  so  many  papers  already,  we  get  no  time  to  read 
them.''  "  Two  dollars  and  a  half  a  year !  Why,  we  can  get 
as  big  a  paper  for  a  dollar  and  a  quarter ! "  [And  what  do  we 
care  if  the  cheap  paper  does  steal  nearly  all  its  material?] 
"  Three  dollars  ?  ^  Missionary  Herald  ? '  ^  Home  Missionary  ? ' 
Why,  you  must  think  we  are  made  of  money ! "  And  so  we 
do  not  know  what  the  Lord  is  doing  ;  do  not  keep  the  run  of 
the  war.  Our  souls  have  no  chance  to  catch  the  sacred  fire. 
We  never  get  above  our  acres,  our  crops,  and  our  stock. 
Not  realizing  that  we  and  our  little  churches  are  part  of  God's 
great  army  that  is  conquering  the  world,  we  are  liable  to 
grow  petty,  complaining,  fussy,  critical,  quarrelsome,  childish. 
Our  work  as  Christians  is  nought.  The  local  church  grows 
down-hill,  and  the  weaker  it  becomes  the  harder  it  is  to 
harmonize. 

We  need  to  reform  ourselves,  that  we  may  become  broader 
in  our  ideas  and  warmer  in  our  sympathies.  If  we  do  not 
want  every  mean  and  childish  and  weedy  quality  of  our  human 
nature  to  grow  up  and  go  to  seed,  we  need  to  get  our  eyes 
fixed  on  objects  that  are  worth  while.  But  all  this  is  only  to 
say  again,  we  need  a  larger  and  truer  idea  of  the  church  of 
Christ  and  of  its  work. 

Second.  We  confess,  that  in  close  connection  with  this,  we 
greatly  need  enlarged  ideas  as  to  giving. 

If  the  church  is  intended  to  grow  and  win,  the  means  must 
be  supplied  accordingly.  The  opposite  theory  seems  often  to 
prevail,  that  only  enough  is  to  be  provided  barely  to  keep  the 
church  alive.  How  pitiful!  when  the  Lord  intends  his 
church  both  to  grow  stronger  and,  over  and  above,  to  su])ply 
its  quota  for  the  work  at  large. 

Just  here,  undeniably,  we  of  the  country  do,  as  a  whole, 
sadly  come  short.  The  fault  is  not  confined  to  our  church- 
work.  It  is  prevalent  in  all  departments  of  country  life. 
Wise  educators  have  long  proclaimed  the  fact  that  township 
districts  are  starving  the  country  children  in  the  matter  of 
learning.  Rarely  will  a  rural  community  consent  to  tax  itself 
sufficiently  to  bring  its  schools  anywhere  near  the  quality  of 
those  in  the  towns  and  cities.  When  did  a  country  township  ever 
consent  to  a  tax  sufficient  to  make  roads  that  should  be  good 


320  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

the  year  round  ?  With  some  exceptions  in  favor  of  certain 
localities,  it  must  be  said  that  improvements  that  cost  money 
come,  in  the  country,  only  by  the  hardest.  The  most  popu- 
lar trustee  or  commissioner  is  apt  to  be  the  man  who,  by  what- 
ever means,  "  brings  down  the  taxes."  To  contribute  less  than  at 
present  to  the  piihlic  iveJfare  seems  to  many  of  us  in  the  country 
to  be  a  "  consummation  devoutly  to  be  wished."  In  civil  mat- 
ters the  law  stands  in  the  way  of  our  reaching  the  delightful 
ultimatum  of  giving  absolutely  nothing.  Conscience  in  some 
degree  prevents  our  reaching  that  point,  as  to  giving  for  relig- 
ious purposes.  But  already  very  many  outside  the  church, 
and  not  a  few  within,  have  been  able,  in  the  absence  of  law, 
and  in  spite  of  a  feeble  conscience,  to  reduce  their  giving  so 
nearly  to  nothing,  that  there  is  literally  '^  no  fun  in  it.'^  Some 
church-members,  even,  give  nothing.  Many  give  next  to 
nothing.  Most  of  us  give  not  at  all  ''  as  the  Lord  hath  pros- 
pered us."  It  is  pleasant  to  say  that  a  few  do  give  nobly  and 
freely,  and  that  some  even  give  as  did  the  queen  of  all  givers, 
"two  mites  which  make  a  farthing."  It  may  be  but  their 
small  gift  is  "all  their  living."  Yes,  some  of  the  grandest 
giving  is  from  the  country.  Still  as  a  rule  our  ideas  of  giving 
are  far  too  limited.  We  seldom  give  with  anything  of  that 
boldness  and  audacity  which  belong  no  less  to  a  vivid  faith 
than  to  a  wise  foresight.  In  many  instances  we  starve  our- 
selves spiritually,  and  convert  our  children  into  muck-rakes ; 
we  starve  the  church,  we  make  our  rural  communities  not 
worth  living  in,  we  drive  away  the  best  elements  of  society  — 
by  looking  not  how  we  may  continually  increase  our  giving, 
but  how  we  may  lessen  it.  We  accordingly  suffer  in  many 
ways,  of  which  some  may  be  mentioned. 

We  suffer  from  frequent  changes  in  the  pastorate.  We  are 
not  willing  to  give,  continuously,  enough  to  make  sure  of  the 
support  of  a  good  pastor,  without  a  demoralizing  dependence 
on  the  world.  We  calculate  on  the  support  of  those  not  only 
not  Christians,  but  who  never  darken  the  church  doors,  or  do 
so  only  when  "  a  new  man  "  arrives.  While  the  new  man  is 
new,  this  worldly  element  will  assist.  If  he  is  faithful  he  will 
reprove  sin,  and  the  interest  of  this  class  will  wane.  He  is 
not  so  liberal  as  they  hoped.      By  the  second  or  third  year  it 


THE  NEEDS  OF  THE  COUNTRY  CHURCHES  321 

is  hard  to  raise  the  salary:  then  it  becomes  "impossible." 
The  pastor  perhaps  waits  for  this.  But  most,  if  possessed  of 
self-respect,  do  not.  They  go  before  this  point  is  reached. 
Then  the  "Rev.  Interregnum"  succeeds.  The  church  runs 
down.  Everything  becomes  dead.  At  last,  in  very  fright, 
the  effort  is  made,  and  a  new  pastor  is  secured,  to  pass 
through  the  same  experience.  Now  there  are  very  few 
churches  so  weak  that  they  need  to  depend  in  any  such  way 
upon  the  world.  There  are  a  few,  but  such  should  be  helped 
by  the  whole  body  of  churches. 

Most  of  our  country  churches  are  able  to  support  their 
ministry  so  well  that  the  giving  or  not  giving  of  outsiders 
might  be  a  mere  incidental  thing  —  sought,  not  for  the 
church's  sake  nor  the  pastor's,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  givers 
themselves.  When  the  church-members  give  as  the  best  of 
them  now  give,  we  shall  have  sufficiently  long  and  fruitful 
pastorates.  Nor  is  this  mere  assertion,  but  the  result  of  care- 
ful studies,  which  time  does  not  permit  us  to  explain.  That 
many  of  out*  country  churches  are  not  extinct  under  the  treat- 
ment received  from  their  own  members  is  a  proof  of  God's 
great  mercy. 

Again,  we  insure  defeat  in  many  instances  by  penuriously 
refusing  to  supply  proper  and  improved  appliances  for  church 
work.  It  is  not  so  with  our  farms.  We  thresh  and  saw  wood 
by  steam  5  sow  oui*  grain  mth  a  costly  "  seeder  "  -,  cut  our  grain 
with  a  "  twine-binder  " ;  plow  with  a  beautiful  implement  that 
would  have  seemed  a  miracle  to  our  fathers.  We  know  that 
it  does  not  pay  to  farm  to-day  with  awkward,  obsolete  tools. 

How  is  it  with  our  Christian  husbandry  ?  Are  not  many  of 
us,  in  church  matters,  plowing  with  a  wooden  mold-board, 
using  a  straight-snath  scythe,  reaping  with  no  better  tool  than 
the  old  back-ache  sickle  ?  In  other  words,  do  we  not  forget 
that  we  are  in  the  last  quarter  of  the  wondrous  nineteenth 
century,  and  that  church  work  demands  new  and  improved 
appliances,  like  all  other  departments  of  work  ?  Some  of  us 
are  content  with  church  buildings  which  are  mere  wooden 
plows — cumbersome,  ugly,  and  not  at  all  adapted  to  the 
work.  You  might  often  look  in  a  country  village  or  hamlet 
for  the  most  repulsive  building  (of  any  pretension),  and  find 
21 


322  THE    PEOPLE   AT    WORK 

it  the  church,  which  ought  to  be  the  most  beautiful.  Look  at 
such  a  church !  The  front  of  it  cries  out  against  every  canon 
of  good  taste.  The  great  staring  windows  say  plainly, 
"  There's  nothing  inside."  Shabby,  and  weathered,  and  down- 
at-the-heel,  yet  that  building  represents  Christianity  !  Chris- 
tianity built  it,  and  seems  content  with  it !  And  when  the 
people  have  their  cosy,  adorned,  modern  houses  and  enter  the 
dread  abode  of  religion,  their  eyes  are  met  by  ugliness  still . 
Seats  that  have  to  be  wrestled  with,  walls  motJ;led  and  leprous- 
looking,  plaster  cracked  and  smoky,  ventilation  wanting ; 
chilliness  in  winter,  intense  heat  in  summer,  stridulous  worn 
out  reed  organ,  the  despair  of  the  choir;  poor  hymn-books, 
probably  not  half  enough.  No  Bibles.  Lamps  —  the  less  said 
of  them  the  better ;  they  have  ruined  the  text  about  the  drop- 
pings of  the  sanctuary.  No  proper  rooms  for  the  different 
requirements  of  modern  church  work.  We  build  additional 
barns  and  sheds  for  our  farms,  till  we  have  enough  for  their 
proper  needs.  But  we  do  not  add  to  our  church  the  rooms 
without  which  a  properly  conducted  infant  class,  Bible  class, 
prayer  meeting  or  inquiry  meeting  are  well-nigh  impossible. 
We  build  box-staUs  for  our  horses  —  they  are  valuable;  and 
we  tie  up  our  prayer  meeting  in  the  corner  of  the  church, — 
I  had  almost  said  barn, —  where  all  the  old  windows  rattle 
their  teeth  at  them,  and  the  chiU  of  the  grave  steals  over  them. 
And  then,  week  after  week,  we  claim  the  promise  for  the  ^'  two 
or  three  that  are  gathered  together,"  and  lament  that  so  few 
"  come  to  the  solemn  feast  of  Zion."  And  we  wonder  that  our 
boys  and  girls  eagerly  break  away  and  go  to  the  city,  for- 
getting that  by  this  penurious  neglect  we  have  been  bidding 
high  for  the  contempt  of  the  world  and  the  alienation  of  our 
own  children ;  bidding  high  for  the  increase  of  the  non-church- 
going  class,  already  so  large.  A  right  idea  of  the  church  and 
large  giving  would  cure  these  evils ;  would  provide  tasteful  — 
not  costly  —  churches,  with  rooms  for  the  different  uses,  good 
organs,  instruction  in  church  music ;  Bibles  and  hymn-books ; 
sufiScient  support  for  a  permanent  pastor,  of  abundant  ability ; 
and  would  provide  for  any  remaining  want. 

Third.     We  need  willingness,  earnestness,  and  skill  in  indi- 
vidual Christian  work.     Country  Christians  are  beset  with 


THE    NEEDS    OF    THE    COUNTRY    CHURCHES     323 

one  of  the  snares  of  the  devil,  which  he  teaches  them  to  call 
bashf  ulness ;  but  in  truth  there  are  many  strands  in  this  snare, 
of  which  real  bashfulness  is  the  smallest.  The  others  are 
hidden,  such  as  pride,  spiritual  indolence,  and  the  like.  The 
snare  is  upon  our  limbs,  and  across  our  lips.  We  can^t  rise 
up  to  speak,  we  can't  kneel  down  to  pray.  When  we  meet  a 
friend  we  can't  open  our  lips  about  Christ !  Yet  how  few  are 
ever  converted  without  the  personal  effort !  Rarely  by  a  ser- 
mon, hymn,  or  prayer — almost  always  these  must  be  supple- 
mented by  the  word  of  a  friend.  The  church. whose  members 
excel  in  willingness,  earnestness,  and  skill  in  personal  effort 
will  be  a  growing  church.  Let  there  be  a  degree  of  purity, 
uprightness,  and  kindness  sufficient  to  win  general  confidence 
from  those  without,  and  little  else  is  wanting  but  this  willing- 
ness, earnestness,  and  skill  in  simple  conversational  work. 
Without  these,  or  with  only  a  spasmodical  exhibition  of  them, 
there  will  at  best  be  very  slow  growth.  The  death  rate  and 
the  removal  rate  will  chase  hard  after  the  church  that  lacks 
these  qualifications. 

But  for  this  we  still  need  the  high  and  true  ideal  of  the 
church.  The  old-time  militia  companies  of  my  father's  day 
would  not  take  hold  in  earnest  to  learn  the  tactics.  They 
knew  there  was  no  adequate  reason  for  learning.  But  as  soon 
as  the  first  gun  was  heard  at  Fort  Sumter,  the  whole  nation 
became  willing,  earnest,  and  presently  skillful  in  the  use  of 
arms.  So,  let  us  all  understand  and  feel  the  import  of  the 
church  and  its  work,  and  we  shall  gain  these  qualifications 
speedily.  And  it  cannot  be  too  strongly  urged,  that  this  is 
the  focal  point  in  which  all  our  needs  converge.  Here,  in  this 
personal  work,  all  our  ideas  are  to  be  reduced  to  practice  -,  all 
our  high  conceptions,  all  our  liberal  giving,  all  our  wise  pro- 
viding, are  in  order  to  the  exercise,  under  the  best  conditions 
possible,  of  this  personal  power.  As  all  the  arrangements 
and  provisions  for  an  army  are  in  order  that  every  soldier  may 
fight  effectually  as  an  individual,  so  here :  all  for  this  personal 
willingness,  earnestness,  and  skill.  These  are  what  win  the 
battle. 


XIII 
SOCIETIES    OF    CHRISTIAN    ENDEAVOR. 

PERHAPS  the  purpose  and  design  of  the  Young  People's 
Society  of  Christian  Endeavor  can  in  no  way  be  better 
set  forth  than  by  explaining  its  origin.  It  was  established 
in  the  Williston  Congregational  Church,  of  Portland,  Maine,  in 
February,  1881,  in  consequence  of  a  revival  of  religion,  which 
had  been  especially  fruitful  in  its  results  among  the  young 
people  and  children.  The  pastor  felt  the  importance  of  secur- 
ing an  intimate  bond  of  connection  between  these  young  people 
who  had  given  evidence  of  conversion  and  the  church,  and  of 
giving  them  each  some  definite  Christian  work  to  perform  at 
the  very  beginning  of  their  new  life. 

It  was  an  old  problem  that  demanded  solution,  but  a  most 
vital  one.  There  was  no  agency  in  his  church,  nor,  so  far  as 
he  knew,  in  other  churches,  for  the  accomplishment  of  just 
this  work.  The  usual  machinery  of  the  Sunday-school,  the 
young  people's  prayer-meeting,  the  church  prayer-meeting,  and 
the  Sunday  services  was,  to  be  sure,  in  active  and  helpful 
operation ;  but  there  was  nothing  which  seemed  to  fi.U  just  the 
present  need,  the  training  which  should  correspond  in  some 
degree  to  the  industrial  training  of  the  day  in  secular  pursuits, 
and  fi.t  the  young  converts  hy  ivorJc,  for  tvorJc  in  the  chm^ch  of 
God.  Such  training  seemed  to  be  especially  necessary,  as  some 
of  the  young  Christians  were  considered  by  their  parents,  and 
perhaps  by  the  church,  as  too  young  and  inexperienced  for 
church-membership,  and  a  practical  probation  of  many  months 
was  before  each. 

To  provide  a  half-way  house  to  the  church,  for  those 
who  could  not  at  once  enter  into  full  membership,  and  to 
provide  a  practical  training  school  for  young  Christians 
already  in  the  church,  or  about  to  join,  was  the  Society  of 
Christian  Endeavor  established.  The  period  between  conver- 
sion and  church-membership  is  a  critical  one,  and  the  gap  is 
often  wide.     The  number  of  those  who,  as  they  say,  once 

324 


SOCIETIES    OF    CHRISTIAN    ENDEAVOR  325 

"  experienced  religion/'  and  yet  have  made  no  public  confes- 
sion of  their  faith,  is  surprisingly  large,  and  it  happens  almost 
invariably  that  such,  as  far  as  any  real  influence  goes,  are 
practically  lost  to  the  cause  of  Christ.  The  experience  of 
several  years  proves  that  this  society  successfully  bridges  this 
dangerous  gap,  and  keeps  the  young  people  in  active  service 
until  the  duties  and  obligations  of  church-membership  can  be 
laid  upon  them. 

At  the  very  outset  it  makes  plain  the  distinction  between 
those  who  are  Christians  and  those  who  are  not. 

The  members  are  divided  into  two  classes,  the  active  and 
the  associate.  The  active  members  are  those  who  hope  that 
they  are  Christians,  and  are  willing  to  assume  the  duties  of 
Christian  discipleship.  The  associate  members  are  those  who 
are  not  as  yet  willing  to  be  considered  decided  Christians,  but 
who  are  desirous  to  be  associated  with  Christians,  and  these 
are  expected  habitually  to  attend  the  meetings.  Thus,  at  the 
very  beginning  the  question  is  fairly  and  definitely  presented 
to  every  young  person :  '^  Am  I,  or  am  I  not,  willing  to  be 
known  as  a  decided  Christian  ? "  This  proves  to  be  the  "  valley 
of  decision  "  for  many,  and  the  simple  act  of  joining  the  society, 
with  the  choice  which  it  involves,  has  been  often  the  beginning 
of  the  new  life. 

The  methods  by  wjiich  the  society  attempts  to  accomplish 
its  mission  as  a  half-way  house  to  the  church  and  a  training 
school  in  and  for  the  church  are,  briefly,  the  prayer-meeting 
and  the  committees.  The  weekly  prayer-meeting  is  the  center 
from  which  the  good  influences  radiate.  All  active  members 
of  the  society,  when  they  join,  voluntarily  promise  to  attend 
every  weekly  prayer-meeting,  "  unless  detained  by  some  abso- 
lute necessity,'^  and  also  to  participate  in  every  meeting,  in 
some  brief  way,  if  it  is  only  by  the  recitation  of  a  verse  of 
Scripture.  This  voluntary  pledge  is  the  life  of  the  society. 
Abundant  experience  has  proved  that  there  is  usually  little 
growth  in  grace  without  expression.  Frequent  public  acknowl- 
edgment of  Christ  is  not  Christian  living,  but  it  almost 
invariably  accompanies  the  highest  type  of  devotion  and 
ser^'ice.  The  weekly  meetings  furnish  an  appropriate  and 
easy  channel  for  this  frequent  confession.     The  solemn  obli- 


326  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

gations,  voluntarily  assumed,  give  tangible  shape  to  tlie  tacit 
obligation  which  rests  upon  every  Christian  to  "  stand  up  for 
Jesus  " ;  the  presence  of  other  young  people  is  not  a  hindrance 
but  a  help,  since  all  the  active  members  are  bound  by  the 
same  vows,  and  before  long  the  simple  and  natural  utterance 
of  love  to  Christ  becomes  as  natural  as  before  were  constraint 
and  silence.  It  is  not  the  design  or  tendency  of  the  society 
to  make  prayer-meeting  speech-makers.  Long  speeches  and 
long  prayers  are  not  regarded  with  favor,  when  there  are 
many  whose  desire  and  duty  it  is  to  take  some  part. 

A  verse  of  Scripture  or  a  stanza  of  a  hymn,  reverently 
uttered,  and  expressing  the  heart's  feelings,  is  considered  an 
ample  fulfillment  of  the  prayer-meeting  obligation,  and  in  no 
case  have  we  known  blatant  and  self-conceited  attempts  at 
oratory  to  be  encouraged  by  these  meetings. 

Another  feature  of  the  prayer-meetings  is  the  monthly 
experience  or  consecration  meeting.  This  is  usually  held  on 
the  last  prayer-meeting  evening  of  the  month,  and  the  thoughts 
of  the  assembly  are  directed  to  a  review  of  the  past  month, 
and  to  the  need  of  consecration  for  future  service.  No  well- 
rounded  experience  is  expected  or  desired  of  the  young  con- 
verts at  these  monthly  meetings.  It  is  fully  recognized  that 
the  experience  of  most  Christians  is  a  very  fragmentary  and 
imperfect  matter,  but  it  is  well  for  every  one,  young  and  old, 
once  in  a  while  to  turn  his  thoughts  backward  with  the  ques- 
tion :  "  Have  I  been  honoring  my  Saviour  and  growing  in 
grace  during  the  past  month?"  And  also  to  look  forward 
after  the  retrospect  with  the  thought :  ''Is  my  purpose  to 
live  nearer  to  Him  in  the  future  ? " 

Young  people  are  not  apt  to  be  over-introspective,  and 
nothing  but  good  has  been  found  to  result  from  this  look 
backward  and  forward.  In  this  meeting,  too,  the  simplest 
verse  of  Scripture,  if  it  expresses  the  heart's  experience  or 
desires,  is  considered  fully  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the 
prayer-meeting  pledge. 

At  the  close  of  this  monthly  meeting  the  roll  of  active  mem- 
bers is  called,  and  the  simple  answer,  "  Present,"  is  considered 
a  new  act  of  acknowledgment  that  those  who  respond  are  on 
Christ's  side.    If  any  active  member  is  necessarily  absent  from 


SOCIETIES    OF    CHRISTIAN    ENDEAVOR  327 

this  meeting  he  is  expected  to  send  an  excuse  by  some  one 
who  attends.  Thus  no  week  goes  by  without  giving  the 
young  Christian  a  chance,  which  he  has  promised  to  improve, 
to  show  his  colors  j  and  no  month  goes  by  without  giving  him 
an  opportunity,  regularly  provided  for  this  purpose,  to 
review  the  past,  and  learn  from  this  experience  lessons  for 
future  service. 

The  restraining  influence  of  these  constantly  recurring 
seasons  can  hardly  be  overestimated.  The  boy  who,  with 
sincerity,  renewed  his  allegiance  to  Christ  on  Tuesday  will 
not  be  as  likely  to  fall  into  temptation  on  Wednesday.  The 
thought  of  the  reviewing  hour  which  will  come  with  the 
monthly  consecration  meeting  will  prevent  many  a  foolish 
and  sinful  escapade  in  the  four  weeks  between  these  meetings. 

But  the  prayer-meeting  is  only  one  arm  of  the  Society  of 
Christian  Endeavor.  All  confession  and  no  active  service 
might  not  promote  the  soundest  spiritual  health,  but  frequent 
confession  of  Christ,  balanced  by  constant  worh  for  Christ,  can 
scarcely  fail  to  make  the  well-rounded,  symmetrical  disciple. 
The  other  arm,  then,  of  the  societies  is  the  working  committees. 
These  committees  usually  consist  of  five  members  each  ;  their 
number  varies  from  three  to  eight  or  nine ;  they  are  usually 
changed  every  six  months,  so  that  all  the  members  of  even  a 
large  society  are  before  long  given  a  definite  and  specific  work 
to  do.  One  of  the  duties  of  the  committees,  also,  is  to  set 
others  who  do  not  happen  to  be  on  any  committee  at  work, 
so  that  by  this  method  is  sought  to  solve  the  great  question 
of  raising  up  a  generation  of  working  Christians  as  well  as 
confessing  Christians.  The  most  important  committees  are 
perhaps  the  ^4ook-out,"  the  •'  prayer-meeting,"  and  the  ^^  social" 
committees.  The  first  has  particularly  for  its  duties  to  know, 
so  far  as  the  weekly  prayer-meeting  reveals  it,  concerning  the 
fidelity  and  growth  of  each  member.  If  any  are  absent  from 
two  or  three  meetings,  and  especially  the  roU-call  meeting,  the 
look-out  committee  finds  out  the  reason  why.  If  any  habitu- 
ally disregard  their  prayer-meeting  pledge,  the  look-out  com- 
mittee interviews  them,  and  in  a  '^  kindly  and  brotherly  way  " 
reminds  them  of  their  duty  ;  if  any  forget  the  proprieties  of 
the  prayer-meeting,  it  is  in  order  for  the  look-out  committee 


B28  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

to  give  them  a  hint  which  shall  lead  to  better  behavior.  It 
is  the  duty,  the  business,  of  this  committee  to  do  these  things, 
and  no  one  can  take  offense  at  a  committee,  created  by  their 
own  votes,  w^hich  simply  does  its  duty.  Of  course,  there 
should  be  on  this  committee  always  some  of  the  older  and 
more  level-headed  of  the  young  people ;  but,  thus  constituted, 
it  is  of  inestimable  service  to  the  pastor  and  the  church. 

The  prayer-meeting  committee  has  the  topics  and  leaders 
of  the  weekly  prayer-meeting  to  provide.  These  topics,  for  a 
series  of  weeks,  are  usually  printed;  and  sometimes  daily 
Bible  readings,  bearing  upon  the  subject,  are  also  provided. 
This  committee  can  also  do  much  in  stimulating  faithfulness 
to  the  prayer-meeting  pledge  by  providing  the  younger  ones 
with  verses,  or  encouraging  them  when  the  time  comes  to  take 
their  little  part. 

It  is  not  forgotten  that  young  people  are  social  beings,  and 
to  provide  for  all  legitimate  demands  in  this  direction  is 
the  ''  Social  Committee "  constituted.  Its  duty  is  to  pro- 
mote the  mutual  acquaintance  and  enjoyment  of  the  young 
people  in  a  social  way.  They  are  to  be  on  the  alert  to  find 
out  strangers,  and  to  make  them  feel  at  home.  They  are  to 
provide  occasional  social  gatherings  for  the  members  and 
others  who  may  be  invited,  at  which  any  entertainment  of 
which  the  church  approves  may  be  introduced.  It  is  hoped 
that  something  may  be  done  through  these  committees  toward 
the  solution  of  the  much  vexed  ^^  amusement  question,"  by 
surrounding  the  young  people  with  a  pure  social  atmosphere, 
and  thus  counteracting  vicious  pleasures  with  reasonable  and 
healthful  ones  —  in  short,  overcoming  evil  with  good. 

These  three  committees  every  society  of  Christian  Endeavor 
must  have,  while  the  list  may  be  extended  almost  indefi- 
nitely, in  accordance  wdth  local  needs.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  most 
societies  have  some  or  all  of  the  following  committees: 
Sunday-school,  Calling,  Relief,  Music,  Missionary,  Flower, 
Temperance,  and  White  Cross.  Their  duties  can  be  surmised 
in  many  cases  from  their  names ;  and,  for  the  most  part,  they 
will  be  found  explained  in  the  model  constitutions  and  by-laws. 

A  tendency  toward  too  much  parliamentary  law  and  embryo 
statesmanship  may  be  developed  in  some  quarters.    It  is 


SOCIETIES    OF    CHRISTIAN    ENDEAVOR  329 

nnfortunate  for  the  society  to  partake  in  any  degree  of  the 
nature  of  a  debating  society,  hence  it  is  weU  also  to  have  an 
executive  committee  composed  of  the  officers  and  chairmen  of 
committees,  with  the  pastor  of  the  church,  to  whom  matters 
of  business  requiring  debate  shall  be  presented,  and  who 
shall,  with  recommendations,  present  these  matters  to  the 
society  for  final  action.  Thus  wordy  discussion,  sure  to  kill 
the  spirit  of  a  prayer-meeting,  is  kept  out,  and  the  necessary 
business  which  comes  before  the  members  is  reduced  to  a 
minimum. 

It  is  evident  that  regulations  will  not  enforce  themselves. 
Even  among  those  who  have  the  best  intention,  there  must 
be  certain  sanctions.  In  the  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor 
this  is  provided  for  by  the  dropping  of  members  who  are 
unfaithful  to  their  pledge.  If  any  active  member  is  absent 
from  three  consecutive  monthly  consecration  meetings  without 
sending  an  excuse,  having  been  reminded  in  the  meantime  of 
his  negligence  by  the  Look-out  Committee,  he  is  dropped  from 
the  list,  and  ceases  to  be  an  active  member.  Thus  the  society 
is  constantly  self -weeded  of  those  who  are  willfuUy  careless 
concerning  their  vows,  and  the  active  membership  list  con- 
tinues to  consist  only  of  active  members.  To  prompt  to 
faithfulness  on  the  part  of  the  committees,  a  written  report  is 
required  at  the  end  of  each  month  of  the  work  done  during 
the  past  four  weeks.  This  written  report  is  found  to  be  a 
great  stimulus  to  faithful  effort. 

It  has  been  the  design  of  the  leaders  in  this  movement  from 
the  beginning  to  keep  the  society  near  the  chui'ch.  In  fact,  it 
is  the  church  working  in  and  through  and  for  its  young 
people.  The  relationship  is  as  intimate  and  vital  as  of  the 
infant  department  of  the  Sunday-school  to  the  main  school. 
No  sign  of  pulling  away  from  the  chiu'ch  has  been  observed, 
unless  the  pastor  or  older  church- members  have  been  disposed 
to  look  mth  distrust  and  suspicion  upon  the  young  people. 
To  secure  this  close  relationship,  the  model  constitution  pro- 
vides that  ^'  the  pastor,  deacons,  elders  or  stewards,  and  Sun- 
day-school superintendents  shaU  be,  e^^  officiis,  honorary  mem- 
bers, and  any  difficult  questions  may  be  laid  before  them 
for  ad%dce." 


330  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

As  a  practical  fact,  most  of  them  who  belong  to  these 
societies  are  between  ten  and  thirty-five  years  of  age,  though 
there  is  no  rule  debarring  older  ones,  if  their  hearts  are 
young ;  and,  to  provide  for  those  who  are  constantly  grow- 
ing older  and  must  some  time  graduate,  a  class  of  ^'  affiliated 
members  ^'  has  been  formed  in  some  societies. 

These  affiliated  members  still  have  a  formal  connection  with 
the  society,  are  interested  in  its  efforts,  but  are  excused  from 
the  stringent  observance  of  the  prayer-meeting  rules  by  rea- 
son of  increasing  years,  frequent  necessary  absence,  or  absorp- 
tion in  forms  of  Christian  effort.  It  is  meant  chiefly  as  a 
sort  of  graduated  class  for  those  who  have  done  good  service 
in  the  society,  and  who  can  no  longer  perform  the  duties  of 
active  members. 

It  will  readily  be  seen  that  around  this  central  agency  the 
pastor  may  group  whatever  forms  of  Christian  activity  he 
chooses.  Instead  of  having  half  a  dozen  children's  circles  and 
bands  for  missionary,  temperance,  or  benevolent  effort,  he  can 
have  as  many  committees  as  he  chooses,  each  responsible  to 
the  same  society. 

The  pastoi-'s  presence  and  kindly  oversight  are  indispensable 
to  the  best  success  of  such  a  society.  It  is  not  a  labor-saving 
machine  for  Christian  nurture,  but  it  does  give  the  wise  and 
devoted  pastor  a  natural  channel  for  systematic  work  among 
his  young  people,  where  it  will  do  the  most  good.  By  means 
of  this  society  he  may  know  how  his  young  people  are  advanc- 
ing from  week  to  week,  and  may  keep  a  loving  hand  on  the 
shoulder  of  every  one  of  them. 

''  This  is  an  ideal  plan  for  Christian  training  —  if  it  will 
only  work,"  said  a  wise  and  successful  teacher  of  the  young. 

We  have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing,  after  more  than  five 
years  of  trial,  that  it  does  "  work.''  Starting  with  one  society 
in  1881,  there  are  now  (in  the  summer  of  1886)  more  than  a 
thousand  of  these  societies  known  to  exist,  with  about  sixty 
thousand  members.  They  are  limited  by  no  denominational 
or  geographical  bounds,  being  found  in  all  the  evangelical 
denominations,  in  nearly  all  the  states  and  territories.  To 
missionary  work  they  seem  especially  well  adapted,  and  glow* 
ing  accounts  of  the  good  work  already  accomplished  in  many 


SOCIETIES    OF    CHRISTIAN    ENDEAVOR  331 

heathen  lands  have  been  received.  Emphatic  testimony  to 
their  value  is  given  by  many  of  the  most  eminent  and  conser- 
vative pastors  in  the  country.  In  a  single  conference  year, 
1885  and  1886,  these  societies  trebled  in  numbers.  In  that 
year  three  thousand  young  people  from  these  societies  were 
known  to  have  joined  the  evangelical  churches  of  our  coun- 
try. This  number  means  about  one  in  six  of  those  not  already 
church  members,  whereas  the  average  annual  gain  in  many  of 
our  denominations  is  about  one  to  every  fifty  church-members. 
May  this  society  help  to  solve  the  great  question  of  Christian 
motive,  and  hasten  the  time  when  Jerusalem  shaU  be  ^'  full  of 
boys  and  girls ! " 


XIV 
BROAD  CHURCH  OR  NARROW  CHURCH? 

THE  question  is  not  about  the  creed  but  about  tbe  life 
of  the  church.  Shall  it  be  broad  or  narrow?  Some 
<ihurches  profess  a  broad  creed  and  live  a  narrow  life  j  others 
are  less  tolerant  in  their  belief  than  they  ought  to  be,  yet 
their  work  is  ample.  What  shall  we  say  of  the  function  of 
the  church  ?     How  large  is  it  ?    What  does  it  include  ? 

To  these  questions  we  shall  get  a  variety  of  answers.  Some 
persons  seem  to  regard  the  church  as  a  mutual  insurance 
company,  whose  members  have  clubbed  together  to  secure 
themselves  against  the  loss  of  their  souls.  Others  would 
define  it  as  a  close  corporation  of  pew-holders,  owning  an 
assembly  room  in  which,  once  a  week,  they  meet  in  full  dress 
to  listen  to  a  rehearsal  of  music  and  a  literary  lecture.  Others 
<jonsider  the  church  as  a  hospital  into  which  all  manner  of  spirit- 
ually sick  and  feeble  folk  are  gathered,  and  the  minister  as 
the  doctor  or  the  dry-nurse,  to  whose  care  they  are  intrusted. 
Some  of  the  patients  want  stimulants,  others  want  sedatives, 
others  want  tonics  ;  but  all  of  them  want  a  good  deal  of  care 
and  nursing.  If  they  do  not  improve,  that  is  the  doctor's  fault : 
they  are  in  his  hands.  It  is  by  no  means  certain  that  they  take 
his  medicines  according  to  directions  given ;  but  whether  they 
do  or  not,  he  must  bear  the  responsibility  of  their  condition. 

Such  views  as  these  of  the  office  of  the  church  are  unques- 
tionably narrow.  They  are  not  often  avowed.  We  only  infer 
from  the  conduct  of  church-members  that  they  are  widely 
held.  It  may  be  a  question,  however,  whether  good  people  in 
all  the  churches  do  not  set  too  narrow  a  bound  to  the  activi- 
ties of  the  church.  Is  not  the  proper  work  of  the  church 
ampler  and  more  inclusive  than  most  people  think  ? 

The  church  is  a  brotherhood  of  Christian  disciples  organ- 
ized for  Christian  work.  As  disciples,  they  desire  to  be 
taught,  and  therefore  the  first  and  most  important  function 
of  the  church  is  that  of  teaching.  Worship  is  united  with 
instruction  in  the  public  services  of  the  Lord^s  house;  and 

332 


BROAD  CHURCH  OR  NARROW  CHURCH?   333 

worship  is  entitled  to  a  higher  place  than  has  sometimes  been 
accorded  to  it  in  those  services.  Still,  the  old  Puritans  were 
right  in  the  theory  that  instruction  is  the  main  thing  in  the 
Sabbath  assemblies.  The  dispensation  of  the  Word  is  the 
leading  office  of  the  church.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say 
that  there  is  room  for  enlargement  here.  The  scope  of  the 
pulpit  is  steadily  extending  —  the  preachers  are  learning  to 
magnify  their  office. 

There  is  a  broader  application  of  truth  to  life  in  the  Sunday 
ministrations ;  the  discovery  has  been  made  that  the  wisdom 
from  above  is  profitable  to  direct  in  the  affairs  of  every  day. 
Mnisters  are  not  so  much  afraid  as  once  they  were  that  in 
trying  to  sanctify  the  shop  and  the  kitchen  they  will  secular- 
ize the  pulpit.  All  truth  is  one ;  all  truth  is  of  God ;  and  the 
preacher's  province  includes  all  truth.  The  testimony  of  the 
rocks  he  may  not  refuse  to  hear ;  the  law  that  is  written  in  the 
human  soul  he  must  not  neglect  to  study ;  the  solemn  voices 
of  history  are  for  instruction.  ''For  my  part,  then/'  said 
Father  Hyacinthe,  in  his  speech  before  the  Peace  League, 
^^I  bring  to  the  peace  movement  the  Gospel  ^  not  that  Gos- 
pel dreamed  of  by  sectaries  of  every  age, —  as  narrow  as  their 
own  hearts  and  minds, —  but  my  own  Gospel,  received  by  me 
from  the  church  and  from  Jesus  Christ ;  a  Gospel  which  claims 
authority  over  everything  and  excludes  nothing,  which  reiter- 
ates and  fulfills  the  word  of  the  Master,  '■  He  that  is  not  against 
us  is  for  us '  5  and  which,  instead  of  rejecting  the  hand  held  out 
to  it,  marches  forward  to  the  van  of  all  just  ideas,  and  all  hon- 
est souls.  .  .  .  You  are  Christians.  I  also  am  a  Christian, 
and  a  priest,  and  a  monk.  But  neither  in  the  Christian  relig- 
ion, nor  in  those  glorious  rags  of  the  monastic  habit,  nor  in 
the  seclusion  of  cloister  and  temple,  has  it  been  in  my  wish  or 
in  my  power  to  separate  myself  from  the  things  of  the  world. 
I  am  not  out  of  my  place  in  discussing  social  questions  in 
their  relations  with  the  Gospel,  with  morality,  and  religion. 
I  am  in  my  place,  because  I  am  a  priest  and  because  I  am  a 
citizen;  because  I  have  not  abdicated  for  the  heavenly  coun- 
try the  interests  and  the  love  of  my  earthly  country.'' 

Everybody  knows  that  it  was  the  utterance  of  such  words 
as  these  that  cost  the  great  Carmelite  preacher  his  frock.     It 


334  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

was  no  theological  unsoundness,  it  was  rather  the  heresy  of 
believing  that  the  teachings  of  the  Gospel  ought  to  be  as 
broad  in  their  application  as  human  life  itself,  that  brought 
him  under  the  ban  of  his  church.  But  Father  Hyacinthe  is 
not  alone  in  this  heresy,  even  in  his  own  church.  He  repre- 
sents the  tendency,  now  strongly  manifesting  itself  in  all 
Christendom,  to  take  the  Gospel  out  of  the  ruts  of  ecclesiasti- 
cism  and  metaphysics,  that  it  may  have  free  course  and  be 
glorified  in  the  regeneration  of  society. 

But  it  is  not  only  in  the  pulpit  that  the  church  provides 
instruction.  For  the  public  service  it  employes  one  teacher ; 
for  the  children's  service — the  Sunday-school  —  it  employs 
ten  or  twenty  or  a  hundred.  Each  Sunday-school  teacher  is 
a  preacher  of  the  Gospel,  and  obeys  the  parting  command  of 
Christ  to  his  disciples  quite  as  literally  as  the  minister  does 
when  he  stands  in  the  desk  and  delivers  an  elaborate  discourse. 
By  the  use  of  this  instrumentality  the  work  of  the  church  has 
been  greatly  enlarged.  The  Sunday-school  reaches  many  that 
the  pulpit  cannot  reach ;  and  the  influence  which  the  church 
exerts  upon  society  is  far  wider  than  it  could  be  without  the 
Sunday-school. 

The  Sunday-school  not  only  provides  oral  instruction  for 
its  scholars,  but  also  furnishes  them  with  a  literature  of  its 
own.  Doubtless  many  of  these  books  are  no  better  than  they 
ought  to  be ;  yet  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  Sunday-school 
library  supplies  to  multitudes  of  children  a  most  valuable 
fund  of  enjoyment  and  instruction. 

This  is,  however,  almost  the  only  use  which  the  church  makes 
of  the  printing-press.  A  few  tracts  are  scattered,  and  papers  are 
given  to  the  children ;  but  there  is  no  large  employment  of 
literature  as  a  means  of  instruction.  "Why  should  not  every 
church  have  a  large  and  choice  library  of  miscellaneous  books 
as  part  of  its  outfit  ?  Books  of  reference  for  Bible  students 
and  Sunday-school  teachers  would  of  course  be  found  in  such 
a  library ;  but  it  might  contain  a  careful  selection  of  books  of 
history,  science,  travel,  poetry,  and  fiction.  And  if  in  connec- 
tion with  this  library,  in  the  larger  towns  a  reading-room 
could  be  opened,  where  every  evening  young  men  and  women, 
whose  leisure  is  more  toilsome  than  their  toil,  might  spend  a 
pleasant  hour  or  two  with  the  books  of  the  library  and  the 


BROAD  CHURCH  OR  NARROW  CHURCH?    335 

current  newspapers  and  periodicals — a  most  valuable  addi- 
tion would  be  made  to  the  furniture  of  the  church.  The 
library  and  reading-room  should  be  in  the  hands  of  an  associa- 
tion of  young  men  and  women,  organized  in  the  church,  for 
mutual  improvement  and  for  Christian  work.  In  addition  to 
their  weekly  religious  services,  meetings  devoted  to  intellect- 
ual improvement,  with  essays,  declamations,  and  debates,  mixed 
with  music,  tableaux,  charades,  and  other  diversions  of  the 
sort  should  be  furnished  by  the  young  people  themselves.  If 
any  of  the  young  men  have  a  little  knowledge  of  chemistry  or 
natural  philosophy,  let  them  furnish  occasionally  some  inter- 
esting experiments  in  these  sciences.  A  course  of  lectures  by 
home  talent,  that  shaU  cost  nothing  and  be  worth  more  than 
some  courses  that  cost  much,  may  also  be  arranged  by  an 
association  of  young  people. 

These  are  some  of  the  means  by  which  the  church  may 
extend  its  work  of  instruction.  Other  lawful  means  can  be 
devised  by  which  the  work  of  the  Christian  teacher  can  be 
supplemented,  and  the  church  can  be  made  a  seminary  of 
sound  learning  as  well  as  true  piety. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  our  churches  contain  large 
numbers  of  persons,  young  and  old,  whose  opportunities  of 
mental  cultivation  have  been  limited,  and  who  are  not  now 
able  to  avail  themselves  of  the  advantages  of  books,  periodicals, 
lectures,  and  the  like.  Such  persons  need,  and  many  of  them 
would  highly  prize,  such  privileges  as  I  have  suggested.  Is 
there  any  good  reason  why  the  church  should  not  afford  them  f 
Doubtless  in  some  communities  these  methods  would  be  less 
practicable  than  in  others :  of  that  each  church  must  judge 
for  itself. 

I  have  only  spoken  of  the  department  of  Christian  instruc- 
tion. In  the  other  departments  of  church  work  there  is  room 
for  equal  enlargement.  There  is  only  space  here  to  say,  that 
while  it  is  possible  on  the  one  hand  for  a  church  to  undertake 
too  much,  there  is  reason  to  fear,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
many  of  our  churches  attempt  too  little ;  that  their  work  is 
done  after  a  pattern  too  small ;  that  there  are  instrumentalities 
of  usefulness  within  their  reach  of  which  they  wholly  neglect  to 
avail  themselves.  Quite  likely  a  church  may  be  too  broad,  but 
are  not  some  churches  too  narrow  ? 


XV 

THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  COMMUNITY 

IF  one  of  the  forefathers  of  American  Christianity  should 
come  back  to  this  earth,  he  would  behold  a  new  aspect 
of  religion  strangely  unfamiliar  to  him.  The  old  parish 
church,  whose  '^  three  decker  "  pulpit  he  was  wont  to  regard 
with  so  austere  a  reverence,  he  would  find  converted  into  a 
house  of  prayer  and  praise,  with  bright,  hearty  services, — 
touching  social  life,  moreover,  in  all  its  ministrations,  and 
attracting  all  classes  in  the  community  by  the  varied  charac- 
ter of  its  parochial  work.  The  first  impression  would  doubt- 
less be  a  painful  one ;  the  beholder,  however,  would  soon  dis- 
cover that  the  change  was  no  indication  of  a  secularization  of 
religion,  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  it  was  the  proof  of  increased 
spiritual  life.  "  By  this  shall  all  men  know  that  ye  are  My 
disciples,"  said  our  Lord,  ^^  if  ye  love  one  another  as  I  have 
loved  you."  And  this  new  aspect  of  Christianity  is  plainly 
due  to  the  development  of  Christ's  own  spirit  in  the  church. 
Impelled  by  that  spirit,  she  is  not  content  to  preach  the  Gos- 
pel and  stop  there.  In  her  love  for  souls  and  her  resolve  to 
reach  the  masses,  she  no  longer  waits,  as  in  days  of  yore,  for 
men  to  come  to  her,  but,  like  her  Divine  Master,  goes  out  into 
the  highways  and  the  hedges  to  compel  them  to  come  inj 
sympathizing  with  them  in  their  human  interests,  and  striv- 
ing to  bring  Christ  into  their  daily  lives.  The  only  question 
that  arises  is.  How  far  can  the  church  legitimately  carry 
these  efforts  ? 

As  she  thus  strives  to  touch  the  life  of  the  community  at 
many  points,  she  will,  almost  of  necessity,  be  brought  face  to 
face  with  many  of  those  burning  social  and  political  questions 
which  agitate  a  nation^s  life.  What  part,  if  any,  has  she  to 
bear  in  these?  The  Gospels  themselves  furnish  a  clear  and 
definite  answer.  The  church  is  to  be  the  teacher  of  the  nation 
in  those  things  tvJiicJi  pertain  to  the  Mngdom  of  Heaven,    In 


THE    CHURCH    AND    THE    COMMUNITY  337 

other  words,  she  has  a  duty  to  perform  and  a  part  to  take  in 
all  questions  which  directly  affect  the  moral  character  of  the 
people,  and  only  in  these. 

And  now  let  us  apply  this  principle  to  some  of  these  issues 
to  which  we  have  referred. 

I.  The  Church  and  Civil  Society.  The  conviction  is  very 
strong  in  America  that  ecclesiastical  organizations  should 
have  no  connection  whatever  with  political  movements,  and 
that  such  a  thing  as  a  political  sermon  should  never  be  heard 
in  a  Christian  pulpit;  for  the  whole  experience  of  the  past 
teaches  that  a  theocratic  church  and  a  secular  state  so  limit 
each  other  that  interference  on  either  side  is  productive  only 
of  evil.  There  is  one  point,  however,  where  the  Christian 
church  and  the  civil  society  meet  one  another,  and  that  is  in 
the  individual.  The  American  government  derives  its  author- 
ity, not  after  a  theoretical  manner,  but  in  actual  fact,  from 
the  wills  of  the  people ;  and  it  is  entirely  within  the  province 
of  the  church,  in  her  efforts  to  teach  the  nation,  to  exert  Chris- 
tian influence  upon  that  which  is  thus  the  highest  source  of 
the  nation^s  power  and  authority,*  —  the  individual  will  and 
conscience.  Applying  our  principle,  we  find  that  there  are 
two  classes  of  political  questions  for  the  people  to  decide.  The 
first  are  exclusively  political :  they  belong  wholly  to  the  State, 
and  men  of  the  highest  moral  principle  differ  in  opinion  about 
them ;  the  second  are  as  distinctly  moral  in  character ;  they 
form  part  of  the  religious  progress  of  the  world,  and  regard- 
ing these,  men  of  principle  have  no  difference  of  opinion. 
Here,  then,  the  church  is  to  follow  the  example  of  her  Divine 
Master  in  rendering  unto  Csesar  the  things  which  are  Caesar's, 
and  to  God  the  things  which  are  God's.  With  such  issues  as 
protection  and  free  trade,  taxation  or  coinage,  the  distri- 
bution or  the  centralization  of  power,  she  has  nothing  to  do. 
But  in  questions  like  civil-service  reform,  the  payment  of 
public  debts,  the  sacredness  of  the  ballot-box,  or  issues  which 
directly  affect  the  moral  status  of  society,  she  should  utter  her 
voice  with  no  uncertain  sound,  for  in  dealing  with  these  it  is 
the  conscience  of  the  people  which  needs  to  be  educated  and 

*  Harris,  "The  Relation  of  Christianity  to  Civil  Society,"  p.  129. 

22 


338  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

stimulated, —  especially  in  local  political  issues,  in  which  cor- 
ruption is  so  rife, —  and  no  persons  in  the  whole  community 
are  so  fitted  to  do  this  work  as  the  clergy  and  the  Christian 
laity  of  the  church,  who  are  accustomed  by  their  peculiar 
training  to  be  always  referring  human  actions  to  the  highest 
standards  of  right  and  wrong. 

II.  Class  Conflicts  and  Socl^ism.  While  it  is  true  that 
the  church  cannot  claim  any  monopoly  of  wisdom  regarding 
those  modern  social  problems  which  many  men  of  many  minds 
are  studying  so  closely,  it  is  also  true  that  the  leaders  of  the 
Christian  church,  who,  as  a  general  thing,  have  no  personal 
interests  at  stake,  whose  sympathies  are  equally  divided 
between  employers  and  employed,  and,  above  all,  whose  single 
aim  is  to  elevate  the  moral  tone  of  the  community,  can  wield 
a  very  powerful  influence  as  peacemakers  in  averting  those 
class  conflicts  which  seem  to  be  impending  no  less  in  America 
than  in  Europe.  To  do  this,  however,  they  must  clearly  com- 
prehend the  nature  of  the  struggle,  studying  the  utterances 
of  socialists  on  the  one  side  and  of  economists  on  the  other. 
The  reading  and  comparison,  for  example,  of  two  such 
remarkable  books  as  '^  Progress  and  Poverty,"  by  Henry 
George,  and  ^'  The  Distribution  of  Products,"  by  Edward 
Atkinson,  is  in  itself  an  education. 

And  if  it  be  true  that  neither  side  is  wholly  right  or 
altogether  in  the  wrong, — if  only  a  clearer  apprehension  of  the 
rights  of  all  classes  in  the  community  can  eventually  bring 
about  a  solution  of  the  present  difficulties  between  labor  and 
capital, — it  is  the  bounden  duty  of  the  members  of  the  church 
in  public  and  in  private  to  develop  the  moral  sense  of  the 
people  by  fearlessly,  and  with  ceaseless  iteration,  preaching 
the  rule  of  right ;  referring  to  its  simple  standard,  on  the  one 
hand,  all  such  business  transactions  as  stock  gambling, 
"  pools,''  ''  corners  in  the  market,"  and  that  kind  of  extrava- 
gance which  by  its  uselessness  embitters  the  masses,  and  on 
the  other,  the  claims  of  ignorant  demagogues,  the  tyranny  of 
the  boycott,  or  the  violence  of  brute  forces. 

The  world  may  sneer  at  this  appeal  to  the  conscience,  yet, 
in  the  end,  it  is  always  found  to  be  the  strongest  of  all  appeals, 
if  it  is  persistently  made. 


THE    CHURCH    AND    THE    COMMUNITY  339 

But  the  influence  of  the  church  will  be  still  more  potent  if 
she  brings  these  widely  separated  classes  together ;  for  it  is 
mutual  ignorance  which  begets  mutual  distrust,  and  when  the 
stream  of  sympathy  begins  to  flow  from  heart  to  heart,  other 
things  will  right  themselves.  And  here  what  is  impossible 
for  other  organizations  is  possible  for  every  parish  church — 
especially  if,  as  a  free  church,  she  opens  her  doors  to  all. 
Beneath  her  roof,  rich  and  poor,  capitalist  and  workman,  meet 
with  equal  rights  as  children  of  a  common  Father.  In  her 
varied  forms  of  parochial  work  —  reaching  from  the  highest 
to  the  lowest  classes  in  the  community  —  each  has  his  pecul- 
iar sphere,  in  which  none  can  work  for  God  as  well  as  he, 
and  thus  all  become  mutually  interdependent  upon  one 
another. 

III.  Intemperance.  This  is  undoubtedly  the  greatest 
social  evil  which  assails  our  prosperity.  Yet  there  is  by  no 
means  unanimity  of  opinion  regarding  the  best  method  of 
cure,  and  while  this  difference  exists  among  good  men,  the 
church  has  no  right  to  go  beyond  the  plain  letter  of  the  G-ospel 
itself  in  espousing  exclusively  the  cause  of  either  prohibition- 
ists or  total  abstainers,  or  those  whose  watch- word  is  ^^  Let 
your  moderation  be  known  to  all  men."  *  Rather  is  it  her  duty 
to  adopt  a  wider  policy,  and  band  all  these  classes  together 
against  the  common  enemy  of  drunkenness. 

The  laws  of  this  country  regarding  intemperance  are  far 
in  advance  of  the  moral  standard  of  the  people,  and  hence  are 
seldom  enforced,  nor  has  any  individual  member  of  the  com- 
munity the  power  to  right  the  wrong.  Yet  the  diffused  temper- 
ance sentiment  that  exists  among  us  would,  if  concentrated, 
become  an  enormous  power  for  good.  It  is  within  the  legiti- 
mate sphere  of  a  parish  church  to  focalize  this  general  senti- 
ment by  taking  the  lead  in  the  formation  of  law  and  order 
leagues  for  the  enforcement  of  the  statutes  ;  and  in  all  such 
efforts  she  will  have  the  sympathies  of  the  community  with 
her.  So,  also,  in  the  establishment  of  coffee-houses  and 
working-men's  clu])s,  as  a  counteractive  influence  against  the 

*  A  village  church  may,  however,  justly  espouse  the  cause  of  prohibition 
if  there  is  a  practical  unanimity  of  sentiment  among  the  inhabitants  upon 
this  subject. 


340  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

saloons,  is  a  very  useful  line  of  action  open  to  her.*  Again,  in 
hundreds  of  our  smaller  villages,  intemperance  and  immoral- 
ity are  largely  caused  by  the  lack  of  amusement,  and  because 
there  is  no  place  of  resort  on  the  long  winter  evenings  for 
farm  lads  and  factory  hands,  no  occasion  on  which  young  peo- 
ple of  both  sexes  can  meet  for  recreation.  In  such  cases,  it  is 
unquestionably  the  duty  of  the  church  to  supply  the  lack  by 
brightening  the  lives  of  the  people  with  innocent  pleasure. 
This  she  can  easily  do  by  her  Christmas  festivities  and  other 
gatherings.  The  writer,  a  few  years  ago,  visited  a  parish 
church  in  the  east  of  London  which  had  transformed  one  of 
the  worst  sections  of  the  city  into  an  orderly  neighborhood. 
He  found  there  weekly  penny  readings  and  concerts  attended 
by  the  poorest;  a  night  school;  a  gymnasium  filled  with  boys ; 
a  band  of  music,  composed  exclusively  of  parishioners,  play- 
ing in  the  streets ;  and  even  a  young  people's  sociable  club, 
some  members  of  which  were  dancing  a  quadrille  when  the 
rector  with  his  visitors  entered  the  room.  No  one,  however, 
was  allowed  to  join  these  organizations  unless  he  or  she  bore 
an  irreproachable  moral  character.  We  do  not  say  that  the 
peculiar  plans  followed  here  should  be  adopted  elsewhere. 
Each  parish,  like  each  individual,  has  a  character  of  its  own, 
and  what  is  possible  or  expedient  in  one  place  may  not  be  so 
in  another;  but  the  wisdom  of  such  efforts  is  manifest. 
When,  a  few  years  ago,  the  rector  of  that  parish  died,  it  is  said 
that  ten  thousand  of  the  London  poor  accompanied  the 
funeral  procession. 

IV.  Pauperism.  Many  years  ago,  the  Reverend  William 
Law,  the  author  of  the  "  Serious  Call  to  a  Devout  and  Holy 
Life,"  in  his  desire  to  obey  literally  the  Gospel  caU  to  a  life  of 
seK-sacrifice,  agreed  with  two  rich  friends  to  hve  together 
and  give  all  they  could  spare  to  the  poor.  They  soon  attracted 
a  crowd  of  idle  and  lying  mendicants  about  them,  and  the  peo- 
ple were  at  last  driven  to  present  a  memorial  to  the  magis- 
trates requesting  them  to  prevent  Mr.  Law  from  demoralizing 

*  Great  caution,  however,  is  here  needed,  for  practical  reasons.  The 
whole  experience  of  the  past  teaches  that  for  a  coffee-house  to  be  a  suc- 
cess, it  must  be  conducted  on  the  soundest  business  principles,  and  be 
made  a  self-supporting  institution. 


THE    CHURCH    AND    THE    COMMUNITY  341 

their  parish.  It  is  useless,  perhaps,  in  these  days  to  speak  of 
the  folly  of  such  indiscriminate  almsgiving,  for  it  is  generally 
acknowledged  now  that  this  is  only  another  way  of  pauperiz- 
ing the  poor.  But  let  us  beware  of  going  to  the  opposite 
extreme.  If,  while  we  withhold,  we  give  nothing  in  the  place 
of  our  abns,  we  are  in  danger  of  freezing  up  the  fount  of 
Christian  sympathy  in  our  hearts.  The  pauper  is  morally, 
intellectually,  and  oftentimes  physically  the  weakest  member 
of  the  community.  He  needs  not  alms,  but  the  personal 
influence  of  some  friend  to  lift  him  up  and  show  him  how  to 
live ;  and  the  church  should  send  some  Christian  man  or 
woman  with  a  cool  head  and  warm  heart  to  watch  like  a 
guardian  angel  over  that  man  and  his  suffering  family  until 
they  are  rescued.  Many  problems  and  trying  discourage- 
ments wiU  arise  in  following  this  plan,  but  if  such  visitors 
meet  together  in  weekly  conference  and  bring  their  united 
wisdom  to  bear  upon  the  various  cases,  many  of  the  families 
thus  watched  over  will  eventually  become  seK-supporting. 
Oftentimes  a  poor  man  is  kept  down  because,  being  obliged 
to  pay  the  highest  retail  prices  at  the  corner  grocery  for  the 
necessities  of  life,  he  cannot  get  ahead  of  his  daily  expendi- 
tures. Here  the  chui'ch  may  come  to  his  aid  by  keeping  a 
primitive  cooperative  store  in  the  shape  of  a  barrel  of  flour,  a 
barrel  of  sugar,  a  bag  of  coffee,  and  a  box  of  tea,  stored  in  a 
closet,  and  selling  these  provisions  at  cost,  on  condition  that 
the  purchaser  will  pay  the  usual  retail  price  and  leave  the  sui*- 
plus  money  to  his  credit  in  the  parish  savings  fund  for  a  spec- 
ified time.  Many  have  been  taught  in  these  ways  habits  of 
thrift,  and  the  writer  knows  of  one  woman,  utterly  shiftless 
at  first,  who  thus  in  one  year  saved  twenty-one  doUars. 

V.  Education.  Great  as  is  the  value  of  the  common-school 
system,  it  has  this  one  inherent  weakness  :  while  it  cultivates 
the  intellect,  it  ignores  moral  character,  and  we  are  reaping 
the  results  of  this  false  philosophy  of  Hfe  in  a  generation  of 
educated  but  characterless  men,  who  habitually  place  clever- 
ness before  virtue,  and  who  know  the  right  but  do  the  wrong. 
A  better  system  of  education  might  be  provided  were  our 
churches  to  organize  parish  schools  in  connection  with  their 
other  work  j  but  the  effort  to  do  this  has  not,  as  a  rule,  been 


342  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

successful,  and  it  is  useless  in  tlie  present  state  of  public 
sentiment  to  attempt  to  compete  with  the  common- school 
system.  The  evils  of  that  system  are  fast  becoming  recognized, 
and  are  slowly  working  their  own  cure  both  in  G-ermany  and 
America  j  and  until  a  better  day  dawns,  the  wiser  course  for 
the  church  to  pursue  is  to  use  all  her  influence  in  promoting 
the  choice  of  public-school  teachers  who  shall  be  high-princi- 
pled Christian  men. 

YI.  The  Prevalence  of  Divorce.  Whatever  the  civil 
laws  of  the  various  States  may  be,  here  is  a  matter  in  which 
all  Christian  people  should  be  guided  soleh''  by  the  law  of 
Christ.  The  present  facility  for  divorce  is  a  blot  upon  our 
American  society  which  threatens  the  destruction  of  family 
life  amongst  us.  And  this  is  fatal^  for  the  family  is  the 
foundation  upon  which  all  civilization  is  built. 

The  members  of  the  Christian  church  should  therefore  not 
only  endeavor  persistently  to  bring  about  a  unification  of  our 
marriage  laws  in  the  various  States,  and  a  closer  correspond- 
ence of  their  enactments  with  the  law  of  Christ,  but  also  create 
so  strong  a  public  opinion  among  all  right-minded  persons 
that  no  Christian  minister  of  any  denomination  will  dare  to 
marry  or  re-marry  men  and  women  save  as  the  law  of  Christ 
permits. 

In  these  and  other  ways,  the  church  has  a  great  and  impor- 
tant place  to  fill  in  the  community.  Viewed  from  a  Christian 
standpoint,  the  object  and  end  of  human  history  and  of  all 
modern  civilization,  with  its  arts,  its  sciences,  and  its  manifold 
activities,  is  the  building  up  of  character ;  and  not  until  the 
church  of  Christ  rises  to  the  full  sense  of  her  responsibility  as 
the  teacher  of  the  nation,  in  fact  as  well  as  in  theory,  will  she 
make  full  proof  of  her  ministry. 

There  stands  her  charter  and  her  divine  commission  in  its 
wonderful  completeness  and  comprehensiveness,  as  given  by 
her  risen  Lord :  ''All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and 
in  earth.  Go  ye  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing 
them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost :  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever 
I  have  commanded  you,  and,  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world." 


XVI 
LATENT  POWER  IN  THE  CHURCHES 

MANY  church-members  seem  to  have  forgotten  the  mean- 
ing of  the  church  and  its  mission.  The  church  is  not 
an  ark  in  which  the  elect  few  may  take  refuge  and  float  plac- 
idly along  over  the  perishing  members  of  a  lost  race.  It  is 
not  a  ferry-boat  intended  to  transfer  idle  passengers  to  the 
heavenly  shore.  It  is  not  a  sort  of  eternal  life  insurance  com- 
pany, all  obligations  to  which  are  discharged  when  the  annual 
dues  have  been  paid.  It  is  not  a  coterie,  composed  of  a  social 
set  to  which  members  of  another  social  stratum  are  not 
admitted,  or  are  at  least  unwelcome.  It  is  not  a  club  organ- 
ized to  furnish  agreeable  Sunday  entertainments.  It  is  not 
simply  a  school  where  we  are  to  sit  forever  at  the  feet  of  some 
instructor  and  learn.  Nor  is  the  church  for  worship  only. 
Being  present  at  every  service  in  the  year,  accepting  our 
share  of  financial  responsibility,  contributing  generously  to 
every  benevolence  of  the  church  and  appropriately  participat- 
ing in  the  services — even  this,  much  as  it  is,  is  not  all.  If 
every  member  of  every  church  did  all  this,  and  only  this,  the 
church  would  fall  far  short  of  accomplishing  its  mission. 

The  church  exists  for  work  as  well  as  for  worship.  What 
do  we  suppose  was  Christ's  conception  of  his  church  ?  What 
was  his  object  in  its  organization  ?  The  church  was  to  be  his 
body,  the  instrument  of  his  wiU,  the  medium  through  which 
his  spirit  and  Hfe  should  be  manifested  to  the  world.  It  is  the 
business  of  the  body  to  execute  the  purpose  of  the  head. 
Christ  must  have  organized  the  church,  his  bod}^,  to  carry 
forward  the  work  which  brought  him  into  the  world.  And 
Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners.  That  was 
his  business.  And  the  business  of  the  church  is  identical  with 
the  business  of  its  founder.  The  church  exists  to  save  sin- 
ners, in  the  broadest  and  fullest  sense  of  the  word  save;  and 
that  church  which  does  not  make  the  saving  of  sinners  the 
object  of  its  preaching  and  hearing,  its  prapng  and  giving 

343 


344  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

and  meeting,  is  not  minding  its  business,  is  unfaithful  to  its 
commission,  and  belies  its  Master. 

From  the  fact  that  so  many  Christians  forget  that  Christ 
calls  his  disciples  for  the  express  purpose  of  discipling  the 
nations,  that  the  great  object  of  organizing  the  church  in  the 
world  was  work,  and  that  some  particular  part  of  it  has  been 
apportioned  to  every  servant  of  Christ,  it  has  come  to  pass  that 
only  a  very  small  portion  of  the  power  of  the  church  is  put 
forth.  My  theme  is,  "  The  Latent  Power  of  the  Churches.'^ 
I  shall  treat  it  under  three  heads. 

First  The  latent  power  in  numbers. 

Second.  The  latent  financial  power  of  the  churches. 

Third.  The  latent  power  of  work. 

First.  When  it  is  said  that  the  business  of  the  church  is 
identical  with  the  business  of  its  founder,  by  ^^  the  church ''  is 
meant  not  its  minister,  not  the  church  within  the  church, — 
the  faithful  few,  who  give  the  money  and  do  the  work  and 
constitute  the  active  power  of  the  body, —  but  every  member 
of  the  church.  Every  member  of  the  body  is  intended  to 
serve.  When  any  member  refuses  to  perform  its  proper  func- 
tion, there  is  soreness,  disease,  paralysis.  Many  members  of 
Christ's  body  have  been  struck  with  the  paralysis  of  worldli- 
ness.  They  do  nothing  but  hang  helpless,  and  are  carried 
about  by  the  other  members.  The  hands  or  feet  are  often 
paralyzed  so  that  Christ's  will  is  very  inadequately  executed  in 
the  world.  The  tongue  is  often  paralyzed  so  that  Christ  very 
imperfectly  utters  himself  among  men.  These  diseased,  and 
withered,  and  useless  members  of  the  body  of  Christ  not  only 
do  not  serve,  but  hinder  those  that  do.  If  they  cannot  be 
restored  to  health  and  service,  their  amputation  would  render 
the  body  more  effective. 

Not  a  few  church-members  seem  to  be  under  the  impression 
that  they  hire  the  minister  to  do  their  Christian  work  for  them 
and  look  after  their  spiritual  concerns,  just  as  they  employ  a 
lawyer  to  look  after  their  legal  interests.  An  elder  in  a 
Southern  church,  when  called  on  by  his  pastor  to  lead  in 
prayer,  declined,  saying,  ^^  That's  what  we  hire  you  for."  As 
well  might  a  pupil  in  a  gymnasium  think  he  employed  his 
teacher  to  take  exercise  for  him ;  as  well  might  a  company  of 


LATENT  POWER  IN  THE  CHURCHES     345 

soldiers  imagine  that  it  is  the  duty  of  their  captain  to  go 
through  the  di'ill  in  their  stead,  and  fight  their  battles,  while 
they  look  on  and  applaud  or  criticize.  If  your  exercise  is 
taken  by  some  one  else,  your  exercise  is  not  taken  at  all.  Duty 
can^t  be  done  by  another. 

To  test  the  practice  of  our  church-members  in  this  partic- 
ular, a  few  questions  were  lately  addressed  to  the  pastors  of 
churches,  large  and  small,  in  city  and  country,  in  all  parts  of 
Ohio,  with  the  request  that  answers  be  returned  after  the  first 
pleasant  Sabbath.  It  is  true  that  in  some  quarters  country 
roads  are  bad  in  April  j  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the  glow  of 
revival  fervor  lingers  yet  in  many  churches,  which  of  course 
increases  congregations.  Moreover,  many  Sabbaths  during 
the  year  are  stormy.  We  may  safely  infer,  therefore,  that 
our  statistics  gathered  on  a  pleasant  day  represent  an  attend- 
ance rather  above  than  below  the  average.  Replies  were 
received  from  thirty  churches.  A  larger  proportion  of 
pastors  in  the  city  responded  than  of  pastors  in  the  country, 
and  this  fact  improves  the  showing  of  the  churches ;  for  I 
find,  on  examination,  that  the  percentage  of  resident  member- 
ship attending  church  and  prayer-meeting  in  the  city  is  decid- 
edly larger  than  in  the  country.  Let  us  bear  in  mind,  then, 
that  the  average  of  these  thirty  churches  is  above  that  of  the 
State ;  and  we  should  not  forget  that  our  facts  are  presented 
in  a  year  of  exceptional  spiritual  life. 

Of  these  thirty  churches  the  average  resident  membership 
is  one  hundred  and  sixty-nine.  Only  ninety-five  of  these 
members  are  found  in  church  Sabbath  morning,  and  only 
thirty-eight  of  them  are  in  their  places  at  the  weekly  prayer- 
meeting.  That  is,  only  fifty-six  per  cent,  of  the  resident  mem- 
bership attend  worship  on  a  pleasant  Sabbath  morning,  and 
only  twenty-two  per  cent,  are  at  the  weekly  meeting  of 
prayer.  This  means  that  of  thirty  thousand  members,  in 
round  numbers,  about  fifteen  thousand  are  not  found  at 
church  Sabbath  morning.  Some  of  these  are  present  in  the 
evening,  some  are  sick  and  some  are  attending  the  sick,  while 
others  are  temporarily  absent  from  home.  But  is  it  not  evi- 
dent that  a  majority  of  these  absentees  are  neglecting  duty? 
And  is  there  not  a  great  loss  of  that  power  which  resides  in 


346  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

numbers?  Members  of  tlie  churcli  who  can  attend  its  ser- 
viceS;  and  do  not,  have  very  little  spiritual  life  and  no  spiritual 
power,  do  little  or  nothing  to  help  the  kingdom,  and  much  to 
hinder  it. 

The  average  seating  capacity  of  these  thirty  churches  is 
three  hundred  and  ninety-two,  and  the  average  morning  con- 
gregation is  one  hundred  and  eighty-eight  j  that  is,  only 
forty-eight  per  cent,  of  the  seats  are  occupied.  Our  church 
buildings  are  less  than  half  filled  by  our  morning  congrega- 
tions. It  would  cost  no  more  to  open  the  average  church  for 
a  congregation  of  three  hundred  and  ninety-two  than  for  one 
of  one  hundred  and  eighty-eight,  and  there  would  be  more 
than  twice  as  much  good  done  —  more  than  twice  as  many 
souls  fed,  more  than  twice  as  many  souls  saved  with  the  same 
expenditure  of  time  and  money.  It  costs  no  more  effort  to 
prepare  a  sermon  for  many  than  for  few,  and  every  minister 
knows  that  it  is  much  easier  to  preach  to  a  large  congregation 
than  to  a  small  one.  There  is  an  enthusiasm,  an  inspiration  in 
numbers  which  multij^lies  the  preacher's  power  so  that  often 
the  meager  loaves  and  fishes  which  would  not  suffice  for  a 
dozen  hungry  disciples  are  made  to  feed  the  multitude  with 
superabundance. 

Does  not  the  fact  that  only  one  is  fed  and  quickened  in  our 
churches  where  two  might  be  show  a  great  and  lamentable 
loss  of  opportunity  and  power  ?  A  very  remarkable  preacher 
may  draw  a  full  house,  even  though  his  members  do  not  lift  a 
finger.  But  the  average  preacher  cannot  be  a  very  remark- 
able preacher ;  and  most  of  the  world's  work,  in  every  walk 
of  life,  is  done  by  average  people.  Unless  the  average 
preacher  and  the  average  church  can  succeed  under  average 
conditions,  Christianity  can  never  conquer  the  world.  Now 
the  average  preacher  cannot  fill  the  pews  without  the  coopera- 
tion of  his  church,  and  the  exceptional  preacher  who  is  able 
to  do  it  is  very  exceptional.  In  this  matter  a  responsibility 
rests  on  the  church-membership  which  is  not  felt.  I  venture 
to  say  that  not  one  in  ten  of  our  members,  aside  from  occupy- 
ing his  own  seat,  feels  the  slightest  responsibility  for  the  size 
of  the  congregations.  And  this  accounts  for  the  fact  that  less 
than  one-haK  of  our  sittings  are  occupied. 


LATENT  POWER  IN  THE  CHURCHES     347 

The  evening  services  of  a  certain  church  were  poorly 
attended;  people  thought  they  could  not  come  out  twice  a 
Sunday.  The  council  talked  it  over  and  pledged  one  another 
that  they  would  never  willingly  absent  themselves  from  the 
evening  service,  and  that  they  would  urge  every  one  they  saw 
to  plan  for  a  second  attendance.  The  parents  talked  it  over. 
They  found  their  children  were  not  in  the  habit  of  spending 
the  evening  religiously  or  profitably,  and  they  determined  to 
set  them  an  example  of  an  earnest  devotion  to  spiritual  con- 
cerns. The  young  men  talked  it  over.  They  concluded  that 
it  was  their  duty  to  attend  services,  and  to  bring  at  least  one 
young  man  apiece  with  them.  The  young  ladies  talked  it  over. 
They  thought  that  if  they  could  go  to  a  concert  or  party  at 
night,  it  would  not  do  them  any  harm  to  attend  church  after 
sunset.  They  decided  that  they  would  go  regularly  and  take 
each  a  young  woman  with  her.  The  minister  was  astonished. 
He  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  it.  The  attendance  was 
increasing  every  week.  Strangers,  seeing  the  direction  of 
the  crowd,  followed.  It  became  the  most  popular  church  in 
the  city. 

Simply  through  the  efforts  of  a  dozen  young  men,  I  have( 
seen  a  congregation  increased  fivefold  in  five  Sabbath  even- 1 
ings.  I  do  not  believe  there  is  a  meeting-house  in  the  State 
of  Ohio  large  enough  to  hold  the  numbers  that  would  gather 
to  it  in  one  month's  time  if  the  latent  power  in  the  churches' 
were  all  put  forth. 

"We  have  seen  that  in  the  case  of  the  thirty  churches  before 
referred  to  only  twenty-two  per  cent,  of  the  resident  member- 
ship was  in  attendance  upon  the  weekly  prayer-meeting.  If 
all  the  churches  of  the  association  were  taken,  I  am  confident 
the  average  attendance  would  not  be  above  twenty  per  cent. ; 
that  is,  eighty  per  cent,  may  be  relied  on  to  be  absent.  In 
some  cases  their  health  does  not  permit  their  getting  out  in 
the  evening.  There  are  others  who  do  not  command  their  own 
time,  and  who,  no  matter  how  much  they  desire  to  do  so,  are 
unable  to  attend.  But  making  due  allowance  for  these,  sui'ely 
more  than  one  in  five  of  the  resident  membership  could  be,  and 
hence  should  be,  present  at  a  meeting  which  aU  need,  and 
which  is  supposed  to  interest  aU.     It  was  when  all  the  disci- 


348  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

pies  were  with  one  accord  in  one  place  that  the  Pentecostal 
blessing  came.  Most  church  covenants  require  candidates  for 
admission  to  pledge  in  some  form  their  cooperation  in  sustain- 
ing the  regular  meetings  of  the  church.  But  multitudes  of 
men  who  would  not  think  of  breaking  a  business  engagement, 
violate  theii*  covenant  with  God  and  the  church  habitually  and 
with  a  comfortable  conscience. 

It  is  a  sad  comment  on  the  spiritual  life  of  our  churches 
that  out  of  thirty  thousand  members  only  six  thousand  should 
be  present  at  the  prayer-meeting  on  a  given  week,  and  twenty- 
f  oui*  thousand  absent.  Is  there  no  waste  of  that  power  which 
resides  in  numbers  I  If  there  were  four  times  as  many  present, 
the  service  would  do  good  to  four  times  as  many,  and  vastly 
more  than  four  times  as  much  good  would  be  done,  because 
the  meeting  would  be  vastly  better.  If  a  given  number  of 
active  Christians  do  a  certain  amount  of  good,  manifestly 
twice  as  many  of  the  same  sort  would  accomplish  twice  as 
much.  But  this  is  not  aU.  The  Word  says  that  "one  shall 
chase  a  thousand  and  two  put "  not  two  thousand  but  "  ten 
thousand  to  flight."  There  is  a  cumulative  power  in  numbers 
greater  than  the  numerical  increase.  Two  hundred  Christians 
ought  to  be  able  to  accomplish  far  more  than  twice  as  much  as 
one  hundred,  and  wiU,  if  they  properly  cooperate. 

If  a  half  of  our  church  membership  does  nothing,  far  more 
than  one-half  of  the  possible  power  is  lost.  If  four  out  of  five 
do  nothing,  possibly  ninety-nine  one-hundredths  of  the  power 
is  wasted.  The  secret  of  the  fact  that  possible  power  increases 
more  rapidly  than  numbers  lies  in  organization,  the  value  of 
which  in  Christian  work  the  churches  and  denominations  are 
barely  beginning  to  learn.  The  difference  between  civilized 
and  savage  warfare  is  not  that  civilized  men  are  braver  or 
physically  stronger  than  savages.  Regularly  driUed  soldiers 
support  each  other.  Organization,  cooperation,  and  drill  make 
them  tenfold  more  effective.  There  is  very  little  in  our 
churches  which  corresponds  to  the  fighting  of  companies  or 
regiments.  The  army  of  the  Lord  is  for  the  most  part  engaged 
in  a  kind  of  bushwhacking.  Single  soldiers  or  squads  fire  here 
and  there,  but  there  is  very  little  intelligent  and  effective 
cooperation.     Organization  is  as  necessary  in  spiritual  warfare 


LATENT    POWER    IN    THE    CHURCHES  349 

as  in  carnal ;  is  as  valuable  in  Christian  work  as  in  business 
enterprise. 

Is  not  the  teaching  of  the  Word  that  the  church  is  the  body 
of  Christ  something  more  than  a  hint  that  it  should  be 
thoroughly  organized  ?  A  church  is  something  more  than  an 
aggregation  of  Christian  men  and  women  who  agree  together 
to  support  the  ordinances  of  the  Gospel.  A  hundi-ed  hands 
do  not  together  make  an  organized  body.  The  effectiveness 
of  this  wondrous  human  frame  as  an  instrument  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  it  has  many  members  of  different  offices  which 
cooperate,  and  thus  increase  the  effectiveness  of  one  another 
many  fold.  Your  eyes  make  your  one  pair  of  hands  worth 
more  than  a  dozen  pairs  would  be  without  eyes.  When  each 
member  of  the  body  of  Christ  has  learned  to  serve  and  in 
organization  has  found  its  true  place  of  service  so  that  each 
member  multiplies  the  effectiveness  of  all  the  others,  then  will 
the  churches  have  utilized  the  latent  power  which  resides  in 
numbers. 

Second,  There  is  an  important  sense  in  which  the  Gospel  is 
not  free  and  ought  not  to  be.  Ever  since  it  was  ordained  that 
those  who  preach  the  Gospel  should  live  by  it,  the  Gospel  has 
cost  something.  Those  who  accept  it  owe  it  to  others,  and  its 
promulgation  is  not  without  money  or  without  price.  Every 
Christian,  without  exception,  ought  to  contribute  to  the  sup- 
port of  Gospel  ordinances  according  to  ability.  If  we  had  in 
our  membership  an  aged  and  decrepit  member  who  was  wholly 
dependent  on  the  church  for  support,  in  bearing  to  her  the 
pledge  of  our  Christian  love  and  care  I  would  say  to  her: 
'^  It  is  your  pri\dlege  to  contribute  a  part  of  this  to  the  support 
of  the  Gospel."  And  though  she  could  cast  into  the  treasury 
but  two  mites, —  one  for  the  current  expenses  and  the  other 
for  the  benevolences  of  the  church, —  she  would  have  enough 
to  win  the  approval  of  Him  who  commended  the  widow  of  old. 

The  support  of  the  church  is  not  all.  Every  member  of  the 
church  needs  the  blessing  which  attends  giving,  needs  to  feel 
that  interest  in  the  church  which  can  spring  only  from  sacri- 
fice in  its  behalf.  The  church  should  be  on  the  minds,  the 
hearts,  the  hands  of  as  many  as  possible.  It  is  an  unhealthy 
condition  of  things  when  the  church  rests  on  a  few  members, 


350  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

however  willing  or  able  they  may  be  :  a  death  or  two,  a  few 
removals,  and  there  is  collapse. 

And  there  is  not  a  member  of  any  church  who  is  unable  to 
contribute  statedly  to  the  support  of  his  church,  if  only  a  cent 
a  week,  a  cent  a  month,  a  cent  a  year  —  something.  A  mem- 
ber of  the  Mahratta  Mission,  India,  told  me  a  few  months  ago 
that  the  average  income  of  a  family  of  six  in  a  church  of  which 
he  has  charge  is  thirty-six  dollars  a  year.  That  is,  for  father, 
mother,  and  four  children, —  not  each  one,  but  all  together, — 
there  are  three  dollars  a  month,  which  is  less  than  two  cents 
a  day  for  each.  Often  the  mother  must  gather  a  handful  of 
sticks  or  grass  and  next  morning  take  it  to  market  and  find  a 
purchaser  before  she  can  provide  the  first  meal  for  herself  and 
family.  Frequently  when  a  man  is  asked  what  he  had  for 
breakfast,  he  replies :  "  Oh,  for  breakfast,  I  tied  another  knot 
in  my  girdle."  Yet  in  the  annual  report  of  this  church  it  was 
stated  that  there  was  not  one  family  that  was  too  poor  to  give. 
All  had  contributed  something  to  the  support  of  the  church. 
If  those  whose  burden  of  poverty  is  so  crushing  remember 
thus  faithfully  the  command  to  bear  one  another's  burdens, — 
these  children  of  darkness,  nursed  in  the  lap  of  heathenism, — 
what  may  be  expected  of  us,  the  children  of  light  and  of 
privilege  ? 

To  the  question,  sent  out  to  representative  churches,  "  How 
many  members  of  your  church  are  regular  subscribers  to  its 
current  expenses  ? "  twenty -four  made  answer.  Of  one  church, 
having  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  resident  members,  one 
hundi-ed  and  twenty  are  regular  contributors.  Another 
reports  thii'ty-five  out  of  thirty-nine.  One  church  of  forty 
members  reports  aU  as  givers.  But  of  the  entire  number 
only  forty-one  per  cent,  of  the  resident  members  are  regular 
contributors. 

This  accounts  for  the  fact  that  with  the  majority  of  churches 
there  is  more  or  less  of  a  struggle  every  year  to  meet  the  cur- 
rent expenses.  And  this  struggle  has  a  very  important  bear- 
ing on  the  great  question  of  the  houi-  —  how  to  reach  the 
masses  with  the  Gospel.  Unregenerate  wealth  does  not  like 
simple,  direct  Gospel  preaching ;  those  to  whom  life  is  a  hard 
struggle, — the  poor,  the  outcast,  the  downcast, —  do.   Generally 


LATENT  POWER  IN  THE  CHURCHES     351 

speaking,  preaching  that  will  reach  and  hold  the  one  class  will 
not  reach  and  hold  the  other.  In  the  cities,  onr  Protestant 
churches  ordinarily  choose  between  the  two  classes.  And  I 
believe  that  in  many  instances  it  is  the  financial  burden  which 
leads  churches,  perhaps  unconsciously,  yet  really,  to  adapt  the 
sermon,  the  music,  the  entire  service  and  surroundings  to  the 
tastes  of  the  '^man  with  a  gold  ring,  in  goodly  apparel,'* 
rather  than  to  the  wants  of  the  "  poor  man  in  vile  raiment." 

Another  point  in  connection  with  the  latent  money  power  of 
the  churches :  Christian  people  are  as  yet  only  beginning  to 
see  that  the  consecration  of  themselves  to  God  involves  the 
consecration  of  their  possessions, —  not  a  part,  but  the  whole. 
They  are  only  beginning  to  see  that  they  have  no  property, 
and,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  can  have  none ;  that  their 
possessions  are  simply  a  trust  to  be  administered  by  them  as 
wiU  best  glorify  God.  There  is  power  in  the  hands  of  Chris- 
tian men  to  reach  all  mankind  with  the  Gospel ;  and  the  Gos- 
pel would  have  been  preached  to  every  creature  long  ago,  if 
the  latent  power  of  the  church  which  resides  in  money  had 
been  active  power. 

In  1880,  one-fifth  of  the  wealth  of  the  United  States,  or 
$8,728,400,000,  was  in  the  hands  of  church-members,  and  this 
takes  no  account  of  the  immense  capital  in  brains  and  hands. 
Of  this  vast  wealth  only  one-sixteenth  part  of  one  per  cent.,  or, 
more  exactly,  one  dollar  out  of  $1586,  is  given  in  a  year  for 
missions,  home  and  foreign.  The  10,000,000  members  of 
evangelical  chiu'ches  in  the  United  States  give  to  these  objects 
about  $5,000,000  a  year,  i.  e.,  an  average  of  fifty  cents  apiece. 
If  they  spent  every  cent  of  wages,  salary,  and  other  income 
on  themselves  and  gave  to  missions  only  one  cent  on  the  dol- 
lar of  their  real  and  personal  property,  their  contribution 
would  be  $87,000,000  instead  of  $5,000,000.  Taking  the  aver- 
age for  the  ten  years  from  1870  to  1880,  the  annual  increase 
of  wealth  in  the  hands  of  American  church-members  was 
$391,740,000,  and  this,  remember,  was  over  and  above  aU 
expense  of  living  and  benevolences ;  that  is,  the  average 
increase  of  wealth  in  the  hands  of  professed  Christians  was 
seventy-one  times  greater  than  their  offering  to  missions, 
home   and    foreign.     Of   course    there  are  those  who   give 


352  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

largely,  nobly,  but  this  only  proves  that  great  numbers  give 
nothing  at  all. 

Third.  In  our  discussion  of  the  latent  power  in  numbers, 
we  have  seen  how  greatly  the  effectiveness  of  the  churches 
would  be  increased  if  the  many  were  as  faithful  as  the  few. 
But  how  many  of  the  few  have  done  with  their  might  the 
saving  work  their  hands  found  to  do  ?  What  if  all  did  their 
utmost  ?    What  if  all  hungered  and  thirsted  to  save  men  ? 

Christ  not  only  demands  the  service  of  every  member,  but 
he  demands  of  each  the  entire  power  of  service, —  all  of  his 
time,  all  of  his  faculties,  all  of  his  possessions.  There  are 
many  who  would  concede  to  religion  a  place  in  their  lives ; 
they  are  willing  to  pay  it  tribute.  They  say,  ^'  Render  unto 
CaBsar  the  things  which  are  Caesar's,  and  unto  God  the  things 
which  are  God's,"  the  Caesar  of  their  lives  being  self.  But 
God  does  not  accept  a  portion  of  our  lives,  a  part  of  ourselves. 
Religion  is  not  something  incidental.  It  is  not  here  and  there 
a  little  island  of  goodness  and  blessedness  in  the  great  sea  of 
worldly  experiences.  It  is  rather  the  salt  which  penetrates 
every  drop  of  the  ocean,  is  in  every  wave  and  ripple  and  fleck 
of  foam ;  sweeping  along  with  the  great  gulf  stream,  running 
with  every  tide,  found  in  every  bay  and  sound  and  inlet  and 
arm  of  the  sea,  filling  the  length  and  breadth  and  height  and 
depth  of  the  whole,  and  cleansing,  sweetening,  saving  it  all. 
From  the  ocean's  fullness  you  cannot  dip  a  single  cup  of  water 
which  is  not  permeated  with  its  salt.  And  so  there  ought  to 
be  no  hour  or  moment  of  the  Christian's  life,  no  great  wave  of 
purpose,  or  ripple  of  mirth,  no  deep  or  shallow  experiences  of 
life,  no  undiscovered  inlet  of  the  character,  which  the  salt  of 
a  Christian  aim  and  motive  does  not  penetrate,  an  ever-present 
and  potent  influence. 

We  talk  of  religious  and  secular  duties.  The  distinction  is 
misleading.  All  duties  are  religious.  Every  duty  is  some- 
thing due  to  God,  and  unless  done  with  reference  to  him,  it  is 
not  rightly  done.  ^^  Whatsoever  ye  do,  do  all  to  the  glory  of 
God."  Every  follower  of  Christ  has  the  same  business  in  life 
as  his  master.  Christ  inspired  his  disciples  with  his  own 
spirit  and  sent  them  out  to  disciple  the  nations.  They  did  not 
go,  one  to  his  farm,  another  to  his  merchandise,  to  fill  their 
lives  with  gain  or  pleasure,  or  worldly  power,  making  only 


LATENT    POWER    IN    THE    CHURCHES  353 

now  and  then  some  mention  of  the  new  kingdom  and  the 
great  salvation.  Their  one  great  business  was  to  save  men, 
and  all  else  was  made  tributary  to  that.  Paul  had  his  trade 
and  worked  at  it,  but  it  did  not  fill  his  heart  and  head  and 
life.  He  did  not  strain  every  nerve  to  see  how  many  tents  he 
could  make  and  beat  that  rival  shop  over  the  way.  When  he 
said,  ^'  One  thing  I  do,"  the  business  he  referred  to  was  not 
tent-making. 

Whatever  our  occupation,  whether  merchant  or  mechanic, 
physician  or  farmer,  we  have  but  one  business  in  the  world, 
that  which  was  Paul's,  that  which  was  Christ's  —  the  business 
of  saving  men.  And  yet  there  are  thousands  who  have  been 
members  of  our  churches  for  twenty,  forty,  fifty  years,  who 
in  all  that  time,  so  far  as  they  know,  have  never  won  a  soul 
to  Christ.  The  Master  talked  of  thirty,  sixty,  one  hundred 
fold,  and  that  every  year.  Is  it  not  very  moderate  to  say  that 
if  our  churches  ]3ut  forth  their  fuU  power,  they  would  at  least 
double  their  membership  yearly  ?  Permit  in  this  connection 
the  familiar  supposition.  What  if  every  Christian  won  a  sin- 
gle convert  from  the  world  every  year  ?  The  Methodist  leaven 
in  the  whole  world  would  suffice  to  leaven  the  lump  of  man- 
kind in  a  little  more  than  eight  years  5  the  Baptist  leaven  in 
the  whole  world  would  do  it  in  less  than  nine  years ;  the 
Presbyterian  in  the  whole  world,  in  a  little  over  nine  years ; 
the  Congregational  leaven  in  the  United  States  alone,  in  less 
than  twelve  years.  Does  not  this  simple  calculation  plainly 
show  that  most  of  the  working  power  in  the  church  of  Christ 
is  as  yet  latent !  Does  any  one  suppose  that  one-tenth  part  of 
that  power  is  brought  into  active  exercise  ?  Suppose  business 
and  professional  men  put  only  one-tenth  of  themselves  into 
their  work,  how  much  would  they  accomplish!  Suppose 
clerks  and  operatives  put  only  one-tenth  of  their  energy  and 
strength  into  their  service,  would  their  employers  be  satisfied 
with  their  work  ?  And  can  we  suppose  that  God  is  satisfied 
with  the  way  in  which  the  churches  are  doing  his  work?  We 
have  too  low  a  standard  of  church  effectiveness,  we  are  too 
easily  satisfied. 

In  this  day  there  is  scarcely  a  hmit  to  the  possible  useful- 
ness of  a  church  that  is  in  dead  earnest  to  save  men :  espe- 
ciallv  true  is  this  in  oui*  wicked  cities.  When  Dr.  Guthrie 
23 


354  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

looked  down  on  one  of  the  most  squalid,  abandoned,  and 
wicked  quarters  of  Edinbnrgli,  he  exclaimed,  "A  beautiful 
field!"  There  are  many  ^'beautiful  fields''  in  all  our  cities. 
But  wicked  as  are  our  cities  to-day,  they  are  virtuous  and  Puri- 
tanic compared  with  Ephesus  and  Antioch,  Athens,  Corinth 
and  Rome,  when  the  Master  sent  forth  the  little  handful  of 
followers  to  battle  with  their  sin,  and  the  Galilean  conquered. 
If  the  enemies  of  truth  and  righteousness  were  tenfold  more 
numerous  than  they  are,  they  that  be  with  us  would  be  more 
than  they  that  be  with  them.  We  have  access  to  the  right 
arm  of  Almighty  Power.  All  power  in  heaven  and  earth  has 
been  given  to  the  Lord  Christ.  But  how  can  we  lay  hold  of 
that  power  unless  we  use  that  already  given,  unless  we  bring 
into  active  use  the  latent  power  of  the  churches  ? 

Some  one  has  said,  '^  What  is  needed  is  not  more  men  but 
more  man."  Even  so,  what  we  need  is  not  so  much  more 
Christians  as  more  Christian.  We  need  a  higher  idea  of  what 
it  is  to  bear  the  name  of  Christ.  The  name  does  not  mean 
simply  that  we  were  born  in  a  Christian  land,  or  that  we 
belong  to  an  ancient  and  very  respectable  organization  called 
the  church.  It  does  not  mean  simply  that  God  claims  one 
day  in  seven  of  our  time,  or  that  we  are  expected  to  devote  a 
certain  proportion  of  our  income  to  our  fellow-men,  or  that 
we  are  to  unite  in  hiring  a  man  called  the  minister  to  do  good 
in  the  world  in  our  stead.  It  does  not  mean  that  by  once  con- 
fessing Christ  we  laid  him  under  obligations  to  see  that  we 
are  everlastingly  saved.  The  name  Christian  means  that 
you  are  Christ's  man,  body  and  soul,  powers  and  possessions, 
seven  days  in  the  week,  and  every  week  in  your  life.  Said 
Ehzabeth  Fry,  "  I  believe  I  have  never  awakened  from  sleep, 
in  sickness  or  in  health,  by  day  or  night,  without  my  first 
waking  thought  being  how  I  might  serve  the  Lord."  Such 
consecration  wields  a  mighty  power. 

"  Give  me,''  exclaimed  Wesley,  "  one  hundred  men  who  fear 
nothing  but  God,  hate  nothing  but  sin,  and  are  determined  to 
know. nothing  among  men  but  Christ  and  him  crucified,  and  I 
will  set  the  world  on  fire."  If  every  Christian  were  a  torch 
of  God,  burning  with  the  fire  of  a  zeal  kindled  by  Christ's  love, 
we  might  exclaim,  "  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand." 


XVII 
COOPERATION  WITH   OTHER  CHURCHES 

COOPERATION  on  Christian  principles  instead  of  com- 
petition on  business  principles  is  one  of  the  most  urgent 
needs  of  the  churches  to-day. 

The  impression  that  our  duty  to  the  non-church-going  public 
is  done  when  the  church  door  is  unlocked,  the  bell  rung,  and 
the  gas  lighted,  is  giving  place  to  the  conviction  that  the  church 
must  '^  go "  and  disciple  men.  If,  however,  the  church  goes 
from  house  to  house  with  an  invitation  to  its  services  and  with 
no  reference  to  other  churches,  the  effect  of  the  invitation  is 
largely  lost,  because  it  is  thought  to  be  selfish.  ^' Heavy 
expenses ;  they  want  me  to  contribute  and  hence  invite  me  to 
go."  The  impression  is  given  that  the  people  are  sought 
for  the  sake  of  the  church.  In  many  minds  the  church  has 
become  an  end  instead  of  a  means.  *'  What  can  we  do  to  save 
the  church?'^  instead  of  "What  can  the  church  do  to  save 
men  '^ "  The  competition  of  churches,  which  is  so  mournfully 
common,  indeed  almost  universal,  is  sufficient  evidence  to  the 
world  that  the  churches  are  selfish  ;  that  they  seek  attendants 
in  exactly  the  same  spirit  that  a  business  house  seeks  custom- 
ers. And,  of  course,  men  who  care  notliing  for  the  church 
cannot  be  induced  to  attend  for  the  sake  of  the  church.  When 
we  really  convince  men  that  we  seek  not  theirs  but  them,  and 
that  we  seek  them  for  their  own  sakes,  not  ours,  we  shall  have 
far  more  influence  with  them.  When  the  invitation  is  given  in 
the  name  of  all  the  churches,  it  is  manifest  that  they  are 
cooperating  instead  of  competing,  and  the  invitation  which  is 
seen  to  be  unselfish  is  much  more  effective.  Such  oneness  in 
spirit  and  effort  has  an  influence  which  thrice  the  effort  with- 
out cooperation  cannot  have ;  not  simply  because  organization 
always  economizes  force,  but  because  such  oneness  is  the  con- 
vincing evidence  of  the  divine  origin  and  character  of  the 
Christian  religion,  which  the  world  lacks.     Christ  prayed  that 

355 


356  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

his  followers  miglit  be  one  that  the  ivorld  might  hioiv  that  the 
Father  sent  him. 

The  spirit  of  oneness  which  exists  should  not  be  satisfied  with 
mere  professions  of  fellowship,  but  should  seek  practical 
demonstration  in  harmonious  cooperation.  If  each  church 
were  properly  organized  and  at  work,  the  necessity  of  cooper- 
ation between  churches  would  be  felt.  Without  it  there 
would  be  constant  friction.  That  friction  is  slightly  felt,  only 
because  the  churches  are  doing  so  little  aggressive  work. 
There  is  no  friction  in  a  grave-yard.  As  soon  as  the  churches 
accept  their  full  duty  and  attempt  to  carry  the  Gospel  to 
every  house,  the  necessity  of  cooperation  will  be  manifest. 

How  shall  the  churches  cooperate  in  their  efforts  to  reach 
the  entire  community?  The  first  thing  to  be  aimed  at  is  an 
accurate  knowledge  of  facts.  How  many  people  are  there  in 
the  town  or  township  not  effectively  reached  by  the  churches  ? 
How  many  never  attend  church!  How  many  attend  only 
occasionally  ?  What  is  the  church  preference  of  non-attend- 
ants ?  How  many  children  are  there  not  in  Sabbath-school  ? 
How  many  Catholics?  How  many  needy  families?  When 
this  information  has  been  gained,  it  should  be  persistently  and 
systematically  followed  up. 

The  first  step  toward  securing  these  data  for  church  work 
is  to  get  pastors  and  a  few  earnest,  influential  laymen  together 
to  talk  and  plan  and  pray  over  the  condition  of  the  commu- 
nity. Probably  many  such  meetings  will  be  necessary  before 
the  cooperative  work  is  inaugurated.  Interest  and  enthusi- 
asm wiU  thus  be  kindled,  without  which  nothing  can  be  done. 
If  pastors  are  not  interested,  their  churches  wiU  not  be. 

Let  there  be  appointed  from  every  church  efficient  lay- 
men—  perhaps  one  for  every  hundred  members;  a  larger 
proportion  in  small  towns  with  few  and  feeble  churches — 
who  shall  direct  the  work.  Divide  the  community  into  as 
many  districts  as  there  are  directors,  in  such  manner  as  to 
equalize  the  work.  Let  each  director  select  with  great  care 
ten  members  from  his  own  church,  and  divide  his  field  among 
them,  assigning  a  certain  number  of  families  to  each  visitor. 
After  the  first  canvass  the  work  can  be  more  equally  divided. 


COOPERATION   WITH    OTHER    CHURCHES        357 

Let  aU  the  visitors  come  together  and  receive  proper 
instructions  and  be  provided  with  uniform  blanks.  It  will 
generally  be  found  that  about  ten  families  fall  to  the  care  of 
each  visitor.  The  labor  will  not  be  so  gTcat  but  that  each  vis- 
itor can  visit  Iter  entire  charge  every  month.  She  reports  to  her 
director,  and  the  several  directors  tabulate  their  facts  at  regu- 
lar meetings.  This  board  of  directors  serves  as  a  sort  of 
clearing-house. 

The  canvass  has  revealed  some  who  are  members  of  churches 
elsewhere,  who  on  moving  into  the  place  neglected  Christian 
obligations.  Others  who  attend  church  rarely  or  not  at  all 
have  expressed  a  preference  for  some  church.  Each  pastor  is 
informed  of  his  own,  and  charged  with  the  duty  of  looking 
them  up.  Non-church-goers,  who  would  express  no  preference, 
have  been  cordially  invited,  in  the  name  of  all  the  churches, 
to  attend  the  nearest  place  of  worship.  If  the  first  invitation 
is  declined,  the  twentieth  may  be  accepted. 

The  visitors  also  have  a  monthly  meeting  in  which  the  rela- 
tion of  experiences  is  full  of  interest  and  profit.  If  this  work 
is  done,  not  in  a  perfunctory  manner,  but  in  an  evange- 
listic spirit  with  much  prayer,  it  affords  an  invaluable  train- 
ing to  the  visitors.  They  become  skilled  workers  j  and  ten 
such  persons  for  every  hundred  in  the  church  give  new  life 
to  the  prayer-meeting  and  raise  the  spiritual  tone  of  the 
whole  membership. 

It  will  be  said  that  such  an  undertaking  is  very  formidable. 
True :  duty  is  often  formidable,  but  always  practicable.  It 
will  be  objected  that  ladies  of  culture  cannot  be  persuaded  to 
undertake  such  visitations.  They  can  be,  if  they  are  Christians. 

''In  the  Pilgrim  Church,  in  Cambridgeport,  Mass.,  there  was  opposition 
when  it  was  proposed  to  organize  house-to-house  visitation.  With  great 
reluctance  on  the  part  of  many  it  was  secured  that  a  trial  district  of  arbi- 
trary boundaries  should  be  worked  for  three  months  as  an  experiment. 
But  so  successful  was  the  trial  that  the  entire  region  of  the  city  in  which 
the  church  was  located  was  divided  into  districts,  and  has  been  carefully 
worked  for  over  twelve  years  without  interruption  and  with  excellent 
results  in  every  direction, — in  the  discipline  of  a  body  of  workers  of  excep- 
tional efficiency  and  numbers  ;  in  the  improvement  of  the  church  attend- 
ance of  two  entire  wards  of  the  city ;   in  the  bringing  of  hundreds  of 


358  THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

children  under  religious  training;  in  the  timely  and  thorough  distribution 
of  relief ;  in  the  promotion  of  temperance  ;  in  conversions  and  powerful 
religious  awakenings."  * 

Similar  results  followed  the  inauguration  of  tlie  above  sys- 
tem of  cooperation  in  Mansfield,  Ohio,  a  few  years  ago.  Within 
the  first  twelve  months  there  were  three  hundred  and  eighty- 
five  added  to  the  membership  of  the  eight  churches  which 
joined  in  the  movement. 

This  system  has  been  eminently  successful  with  a  popula- 
tion as  small  as  nine  thousand  and  with  one  as  large  as 
twenty-six  thousand.  There  seems  to  be  no  reason  why  it 
should  not  prove  equally  applicable  to  a  village,  and,  with 
some  modifications,  to  a  large  city.  If  the  churches  of  a 
large  city  are  pretty  evenly  distributed  over  it,  treat  every 
ward  or  two  wards  as  a  separate  city.  That  is,  let  there  be  a 
complete  organization  of  the  churches  for  cooperative  work 
within  each  ward. 

If  the  churches  have  followed  the  well-to-do  people  to  the 
suburbs  or  up  town,  leaving  a  large  region  neglected,  the  fol- 
lowing plan  of  cooperation  is  suggested :  Let  an  interdenom- 
inational committee  divide  into  districts  the  neglected  part  of 
the  city.  Let  these  districts  be  assigned  to  uptown  churches 
to  evangelize  —  the  size  of  the  district  depending  on  the 
strength  of  the  church.  If  one  district  is  not  large  enough 
to  require  the  organization  of  a  church,  let  two  contiguous 
districts  be  assigned  to  two  churches  of  the  same  denomina- 
tion, and  let  them  together  plant  a  church  of  their  own  order. 
If  there  is  a  union  city  missionary  society,  let  it  share  in  the 
work  just  as  if  it  were  a  church.  Give  it  all  it  can  do,  and  do 
well,  and  assign  the  remainder  to  the  churches.  Thus  every 
street,  every  court,  every  house  will  be  under  pastoral  care. 

Each  church  will  naturally  begin  the  evangelization  of  the 
district  assigned  to  it  by  a  canvass  for  facts.  A  knowledge 
of  the  facts  (if  anything  can  do  it)  will  arouse  the  church  to 
furnish  the  necessary  means  and  workers.  Every  church  wiU 
give  more  to  a  work  which  is  definite  and  exclusively  its  own 
than  to  any  other. 

*  From  address  of  Rev.  George  R.  Leavitt,  D.  D.,  at  Interdenomina- 
tional Congress  in  Cincinnati,  December,  1885. 


COOPERATION    WITH    OTHER    CHURCHES         359 

When  the  church  has  been  planted  in  the  assigned  district, 
it  might  be  surrounded  with  an  indefinite  number  of  missions, 
open  every  night,  on  the  plan  of  the  McAll  missions  in 
France,  which  are  very  inexpensive  and  effective.  These 
missions  would  prove  constant  feeders  to  the  church.  Thus 
with  a  method  of  work  which  is  cooperative  instead  of  com- 
petitive, the  whole  city  might  be  covered  with  evangelizing 
agencies. 

First  Cooperation  economizes  effort;  it  prevents  overlap- 
ping ;  it  covers  neglected  fields.  Without  it  there  can  be  no 
certainty  that  the  Gospel  is  carried  to  every  creature. 

Second.  Cooperation  stimulates  effort.  Intelligent  coopera- 
tion involves  system  and  systematic  effort  to  reach  the  entire 
community ;  calls  into  action  all  available  force,  thus  arousing 
churches  otherwise  dormant. 

Third.  Cooperation  stops  competition,  churches  cease  hinder- 
ing one  another  and  begin  helping  each  other.  This  would 
remove  one  of  the  greatest  stumbling-blocks  in  the  way  of 
Christian  progress.  The  efforts  of  different  churches  would  no 
longer  partially  neutralize  each  other,  but  by  supplementing 
each  other  render  effects  cumulative.  One  shall  chase  a  thou- 
sand and  two  put  ten  thousand  to  flight. 

Fourth.  One  of  the  most  important  results  of  cooperation  is 
mutual  acquaintance,  which  is  fruitful  of  Christian  confidence 
and  fellowship.  If  the  organic  unity  of  the  churches  ever 
comes,  it  will  come  not  through  discussing  together,  which  is 
divisive,  but  through  working  together. 

Fifth.  Cooperation  localizes  responsibility  :  every  one  would 
say  that  if  Christians  are  the  light  of  the  world,  then  they  are 
responsible  for  enlightening  the  world ;  certainly  the  Chris- 
tians of  this  country  are  responsible  for  its  evangelization  ; 
but  this  responsibility  which  is  acknowledged  by  all  is  accepted 
by  few,  because  it  is  general ;  if  it  could  be  localized  it  would 
be  felt.  One  of  the  great  advantages  of  cooperation  is  that 
it  fixes  responsibility  ;  when  a  community  has  been  districted 
and  a  portion  within  clearly  defined  limits  is  assigned  to  each 
church,  a  pastor  can  say  to  his  people :  "  Here  are  so  many 
hundred  or  thousand  souls  assigned  to  us.  If  we  do  not  give 
them  the  Gospel,  no  one  will." 


THE    PEOPLE    AT    WORK 

If  that  cliiireli  is  properly  organized,  and  the  field  assigned 
to  it  is  divided  between  its  members,  the  responsibility  is  fixed 
and  hence  felt,  and  the  conscience  is  aroused.  Thus  the  reach- 
ing of  the  masses  ceases  to  be  everybody's  business  and 
becomes  somebody's  business,  with  a  presumption  that  it  will 
be  done. 


VIII 
THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL 


I 

THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

HE  school  on  Sunday,  by  which  little  children 
of  the  neglected  English  populations  were, 
one  hundred  years  ago,  taught  lessons  in 
spelliug,  reading,  and  religious  truth,  has 
come  to  be  a  great  and  powerful  factor  in 
our  social  and  Christian  life. 
A  measure  of  this  success  must  be  attrib- 
uted to  other  ideas  than  those  embraced  by  Robert  Raikes  and 
his  co-workers.  The  school  on  Sunday  in  America,  in  this  good 
year  of  our  Lord  1887,  is  a  very  different  institution  from  that 
opened  and  sustained  by  the  Gloucester  printer  in  1780.  It 
is  more  comprehensive,  and  contains  elements  not  dreamed  of 
in  the  scheme  of  Mr.  Raikes.  It  retains  the  name  and  also 
the  domestic  missionary  feature  of  the  Gloucester  movement, 
but  this  feature  is  only  a  smaU  part  of  the  modern  Amer- 
ican Sunday-school.  The  tiny  stream  of  laic,  out-of -church,  hu- 
manitarian effort  that  trickled  from  the  humble  fountain  in 
Gloucester  soon  joined  the  swollen  and  rushing  flood  that  had 
broken  loose  from  fountains  of  Christian  and  churchly  philan- 
thropy in  Oxford,  nearly  half  a  century  before  Raikes  and  his 
assistants  began  their  work.  The  later  effort  was  in  behalf  of 
neglected  children.  The  Oxford  brotherhood  did  also  teach 
children  in  street  and  private  dwelling,  but  they  labored  as 
weU  in  behalf  of  men  and  women  in  hospitals,  prisons,  and 
wretched  homes ;  in  behalf  of  tempted  and  doubting  and  god- 

361 


362  THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

less  young  men  in  Oxford  University  ;  in  behalf  of  all  classes 
and  all  ages  everywhere ;  and  the  key-note  of  all  their  work 
was,  Bible  study  and  holy  living.  The  Oxford  idea  was 
broader,  more  comprehensive,  more  radical,  as  it  was  earlier 
by  nearly  fifty  years  than  the  Gloucester  idea.  Both,  however, 
developed  a  form  of  social,  hand-to-hand,  church  effort,  to  the 
end  that  children,  and  youth,  and  adults  of  all  grades  of 
society  might  know  the  truth  and  live  for  God;  and  thus  both 
Oxford  and  Gloucester  unite  in  the  best  Sunday-school  thought 
of  the  present  day.  Those  who  study  the  institution  have 
discovered  earlier  and  similar  endeavors  in  the  same  direction, 
and  it  is  not  difficult  to  trace  all  the  essentials  of  the  best 
modern  Sunday-school  work  to  apostolic  and  pre-Christian 
times. 

Whatever  relations  the  Sunday-school  may  have  sustained 
to  the  church  in  the  days  of  Charles  Borromeo  in  Italy,  of 
Robert  Raikes  in  England,  of  Francis  Asbury  or  Isabella  Gra- 
ham in  America,  it  is  a  most  gratifying  fact  that  to-day  it  is? 
especially  in  America,  duly  recognized  as,  in  some  very  sig- 
nificant sense,  a  part  of  the  church.  It  is  held  in  buildings 
provided  by  the  church ;  sustained  by  funds  collected,  in  one 
way  or  another,  from  the  supporters  of  the  church ;  organized 
and  officered  under  the  supervision  and  subject  to  at  least  the 
veto  of  the  church ;  taught  by  members  of  the  church ; 
preached  about,  prayed  for,  and  in  many  cases  reviewed  and 
catechised  by  the  pastor  of  the  church ;  supplying  from  its 
ranks  a  large  proportion  of  ^'the  new  converts,"  ministers, 
and  missionaries  of  the  church  ;  building  up  by  its  patronage 
immense  publishing  interests,  and  contributing  to  the  large 
'^ benevolences"  which  are  controlled  and  directed  by  the 
church. 

In  many  of  the  highest  ecclesiastical  councils  of  the  several 
denominations  official  action  has  been  taken,  recognizing  the 
Sunday-school  as  an  integrant  part  of  the  church  organization, 
subject  to  ecclesiastical  authority. 

And  why  should  it  not  be  so  1  What  work  has  the  church 
to  do  which  can  be  so  well  done  without  the  cooperation  of 
the  Sunday-school?  Must  the  church  preach  the  Word? 
How  can  she  do  it  more  effectively  than  by  raising  up  a  con- 


THE  CHURCH  AND  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL   363 

gregation  trained  from  early  childhood  in  the  history,  the 
biographies,  the  ethical  principles,  and  the  sublime  doctrines 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures?  How  can  she  better  multiply  the 
publishers  of  the  Gospel  than  by  putting  its  precious  truths 
into  the  hearts  and  on  the  tongues  of  laymen,  and  of  women 
who  will  go  with  these  truths  every  Sabbath  to  little  circles 
of  susceptible  and  receptive  souls  ?  How  will  she  more  suc- 
cessfully send  the  preached  word  to  the  regions  beyond,  the 
Macedonias  of  this  day,  than  by  raising  up  from  the  children 
of  the  church  missionary  givers  and  missionary  "  goers,"  who, 
having  been  trained  to  the  habit  of  giving  pennies  and  prayers 
to  the  cause  of  Christ  in  foreign  fields,  will  easily  go  one  step 
further,  and  give  themselves  ? 

Must  the  church  edify  believers  ?  How  can  she  do  it  more 
thoroughly  than  by  turning  all  believers  into  "  disciples,"  and 
making  it  necessary  for  the  "  disciples  to  become  teachers  "  ? 
What  did  St.  Paul  mean  by  his  counsel  to  the  Colossians  (iii. 
16)  — "  Let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell  in  you  richly  in  all  wisdom  ; 
teaching  and  admonishing  one  another'^* — if  he  did  not 
expect  the  church  to  study  the  word  in  the  mutual  way  of 
conversation  and  class-instruction  so  admirably  provided  for 
in  the  modern  Sunday-school  Bible-class  ? 

Must  the  church  promote  practical  philanthropy.  Christian 
neighborship  and  sympathy  ?  How  can  she  devise  more  wise 
and  efficient  methods  than  are  supplied  in  the  relations 
between  all  classes  of  church-members  secured  by  the  Sun- 
day-school "?  Here  rich  and  poor  meet  together  to  study  the 
Word  of  God.  Here  children  are  brought  into  sacred  and 
tender  relations  with  teachers,  who  are  likely  to  feel  an  interest 
in  all  that  pertains  to  the  temporal  and  spiritual  well-being  of 
their  pupils.  Love  can  command  no  richer  opportunities  for 
help  than  this.  The  improvement  of  personal  habits,  educa- 
tional and  social  ambitions,  and  religious  aspirations  may  all 
be  promoted  here.  Homes  may,  and  should,  and  do  feel  the 
quickening  and  uplifting  power  of  such  association.  The 
value  of  the  Sunday-school  as  a  promoter  of  the  purest  and 
most  practical  philanthropy  has  not  yet  been  duly  appreciated 
by  the  church. 

*  Vide  suggestions  of  the  American  Committee  of  the  New  Revision. 


364  THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

All  this  assumes  that  the  church  has  control  of  the  Sunday- 
school.  There  must  be  one  and  not  two  institutions,  and  that 
one  institution  must  be  the  church.  And  the  church  must 
make  her  power  —  a  power  of  grace  rather  than  of  govern- 
ment —  felt  in  all  that  concerns  the  school.  The  pastor  must 
be  recognized  as  the  highest  officer  of  the  school,  relieved 
indeed  from  responsibility  for  details  of  administration,  but 
present,  as  pastor,  whenever  possible ;  sustaining  it,  and  iden- 
tifying himself  with  it,  and  not  merely  patronizing  it  with  an 
air  of  superiority  and  condescension.  The  superintendent 
and  all  other  officers  should  perform  their  duties  in  the  inter- 
est of  the  church,  and  no  thought  of  rivalry,  as  between  two 
institutions,  should  ever  be  allowed  to  enter  the  mind  of  a 
child  in  the  school.  The  teachers  should  be  members  of  the 
church.  They  should,  at  the  time  of  their  appointment,  be 
publicly  installed  or  otherwise  officially  recognized  before  the 
whole  congregation.  They  should  be  thoroughly  trained  in 
the  doctrines  and  usages  of  the  church  they  represent,  and 
seek  to  promote  an  acquaintance  with  and  loyalty  to  the 
church  on  the  part  of  their  pupils.  And  above  all,  they 
should  teach  those  committed  to  their  care  what  it  is  to  be 
Christians  —  well-balanced,  consistent,  conscientious,  gentle, 
courageous,  devout,  philanthropic,  and  faithful  Christians, 
who  love  God  and  men,  and  who  long  to  help  men  by  becom- 
ing themselves  more  and  more  God-like.  This  is  the  true 
ideal  of  the  church,  and  nothing  less  complete  should  inspire 
the  Sunday-school  teacher. 

When  the  Sunday-school  announces  this  as  its  one  lofty 
aim,  and  devotes  itself  with  unflinching  purpose  and  unswerv- 
ing fidelity  to  its  attainment,  then  will  the  resources  of  the 
church  —  wealth,  scholarship,  social  influence,  time,  zeal, 
piety  —  be  at  the  complete  command  of  the  Sunday-school, 
and  as  transepts,  chancel,  and  nave  unite  in  the  great  cathe- 
drals, so  shall  sanctuary  and  Sunday-school  combine  to  create 
one  great  temple  for  the  worship  of  God,  the  study  of  Script- 
ure, and  the  service  of  humanity. 


II 

THE  MAIN  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SCHOOL 

TO  reach  this,  we  may  perhaps  look  first  at  what  is  not  the 
main  purpose  of  any  rightly  conducted  Sunday-school. 

The  main  purpose  is  not  to  supplant  the  home  training  of 
children  and  young  folk  j  yet  many  parents  send  their  children 
to  Sunday-school,  and  think  that  in  this  way  they  fully  discharge 
their  religious  responsibilities  toward  their  offspring.  This 
is  true  even  in  many  families  in  which  one  or  both  of  the 
parents  have  united  with  the  church.  Every  pastor  knows  of 
Christian  families  where  the  mother  rarely,  and  the  father 
never,  speaks  to  the  children  about  personal  piety.  All  that 
is  largely  relegated  to  the  Sunday-school  teacher;  so  that 
beyond  teaching  the  children  how  to  pray  in  their  early 
infancy,  little  or  nothing  is  done  toward  their  religious  train- 
ing at  home.  We  have  even  known  parents  belonging  to  the 
church  who  made  a  convenience  of  the  Sunday-school,  and 
regarded  it  as  a  day  nursery,  in  which  their  smallest  children 
were  safe  for  an  hour  or  so,  while  they  at  the  same  time  were 
free  from  their  care. 

The  main  purpose  is  not  to  provide  a  sort  of  "  children's 
church,"  as  a  substitute  for  the  regular  church  service.  The 
idea  prevails  only  too  widely  that  if  a  child  goes  to  Sunday- 
school  regularly,  aU  shall  be  weU ;  he  need  not  attend  church 
with  his  parents.  In  some  way  or  other,  as  he  grows  older, 
he  is  expected  to  attend  the  preaching  ser\dce,  but  just  how 
the  change  from  non-attendance  to  regular  attendance  is  to  be 
made  is  not  clear  to  the  parental  mind.  As  a  result,  many 
thousands  of  children  drop  out  by  the  way.  When  they  are 
about  fourteen  to  sixteen  years  of  age  they  cease  attending 
Sunday-school,  but,  alas !  they  do  not  then  substitute  the 
church  service  for  their  ^'children's  church." 

The  main  purpose  is  not  to  provide  entertainment  for  the 
rising  generation,  by  way  of  such  elaborate  weekly  programmes 
as  might  justly  be  called  sacred  concerts,  or  by  such  frequent 

865 


366  THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

sociables,  picnics,  Christmas,  Easter,  or  flower  festivals  as  the 
fertile  resources  of  the  young  ladies  may  suggest.  Festivals 
should  be  used  in  proper  reason,  but  to  waste  one-quarter  to 
one-half  of  each  year  in  preparing  music  and  recitations  for 
the  various  public  occasions  is  an  evil  and  a  snare. 

Having  thus  hinted  at  some  misconceptions  as  to  the  main 
purpose  of  the  Sunday-school,  let  us  turn  now  to  a  definition 
of  its  main  purpose.  The  main  purpose  of  the  Sunday- 
school  is ; 

First.  The  conversion  of  the  scholar. 

Second.  Growth  in  grace  of  the  young  convert. 

These  two  objects  form  the  only  legitimate  goal  toward 
which  we  should  bend  our  efforts.  All  other  objects  are 
impertinent,  except  as  they  cooperate  to  bring  about  the  above 
results.  Even  the  memorization  and  further  study  of  the 
Word  of  God  is  not  the  main  aim  of  the  school.  For  the 
Word  is  learned  and  studied,  not  for  its  own  sake,  but  for 
the  sake  of  such  an  influence  on  the  conduct  of  the  scholar 
as  shall  make  him  more  Christ-like.  For  though  the  pupil 
knew  the  Word  by  heart,  and  could  explain  topographies, 
geographies,  antiquities,  orientalisms,  prophetic  passages,  and 
recondite  allusions,  all  would  be  vain,  and  worse  than  vain, 
were  there  no  result  in  change  of  heart  and  growth  in  grace. 
"  Ye  must  be  horn  again/^  said  the  great  Master ;  and  aU  our 
use  of  means  in  the  Sunday-school  is  merely  intended  so  to 
influence  the  soul  of  the  scholar  as  that  he  shaU.  go  to  Him 
who  alone  can  impart  the  new  nature,  and  then  stimulate  it  in 
all  Christian  graces.  Now,  holding  firmly  this  aim  in  aU  our 
school  work,  we  may  and  should  use  every  proper  adjunct  in  the 
work  which  is  likely  to  further  the  one  main  ob j  ect.  Good  music, 
helpful  hymns,  attractive  rooms,  hearty  exercises, — these  and 
aU  other  proper  aids  are  legitimate  in  our  work.  These  things 
are  not  ends,  but  means  to  an  end,  and  therefore  shoidd 
always  be  so  used  as  to  remain  in  their  subordinate  position. 

When  parents  realize  that  the  Sunday-school  has  this  two- 
fold object  in  view,  and  that  it  by  no  means  supplants, 
but  only  supplements,  home  training  and  influence,  a  great 
gain  will  be  made,  and  our  children  will  reap  the  benefit.  Too 
often  Sunday-school  teaching  and  home  influences  are  in  direct 


THE    MAIN    PURPOSE   OF    THE    SCHOOL  367 

antagonism,  and  the  school  has  to  overcome  home  influence 
before  it  can  be  effective.  Where  the  case  is  not  so  bad  as  this, 
it  still  frequently  remains  true  that  the  home  training  does 
not  distinctly  follow  up  Sunday-school  teaching.  It  simply 
ignores  it.  That  is  the  most  blessed  family  and  parish  where 
home  training  comes  first,  and  is  what  it  should  be  in  doctrine 
and  practice ;  and  where  in  the  Sunday-school  the  teacher  has 
parental  backing  and  example  to  reenforee  his  instructions 
to  the  individual  scholar.  Results  will  not  be  long  in  showing 
themselves  in  such  a  parish. 


Ill 

ORGANIZATION  AND  WORK 
I.   OFFICERS 

EVERY  army  needs  officers  j  good  officers  can  in  time 
make  a  good  army.  With  incompetent  officers,  no  army 
can  do  much.  But  officers  must  be  weU  backed  by  the  Home 
Government,  or  they  will  be  unable  to  work  effectively.  The 
church  is  the  Home  Government.  If  the  supplies  are  withheld 
and  cooperation  gives  way  to  criticism,  no  officers  can  accom- 
plish much.  Too  many  church  boards  are  like  Pharaoh, — they 
want  bricks  made,  but  decline  to  furnish  even  the  needful 
straw.  They  leave  the  officers  and  teachers  to  do  the  work 
and  pay  the  bills  besides,  and  grumble  if  all  is  not  done  to 
their  satisfaction.  Having  thus  x)ut  the  whole  burden  upon 
the  shoulders  of  the  workers,  they  want  to  do  all  the  gov- 
erning themselves.  If  any  church  wants  good  work  from  its 
Sunday-school  officers,  let  them  be  well  and  even  generously 
treated.  Give  them  the  "  sinews  of  war  "  in  sufficient  measure, 
and  support  them  by  influence  and  prayer. 

To  be  properly  officered,  every  school  needs  one  superintend- 
ent, one  assistant  superintendent  (a  large  school  needs  two, 
and  a  very  large  school,  of  say  one  thousand  members,  needs 
three),  a  music  leader,  a  librarian,  a  treasurer,  and  a  secre- 
tary. Large  schools  need  two  to  five  secretaries,  according  to 
their  size.  Most  schools  are  under-officered.  The  result  is  that 
the  work  is  poorly  done.  Better  too  many  than  too  few  offi- 
cers. None  of  these  officers  need  have  the  gift  of  public 
speech,  excepting  perhaps  the  superintendent,  and  even  in  that 
office  we  have  known  efficient  workers  who  were  more  brilliant 
in  silence  than  in  utterance.  There  is  thus  a  field  here  for 
many  a  church-member  who  cannot  '^  speak  in  meeting ''  to  do 
something,  and  that  a  very  effective  something,  for  the 
advance  of  the  good  cause.  In  weak  parishes  where  there  are 
more  sisters  than  brethren,  let  them  be  called  on  for  service. 
There  is  no  office  in  the  Sunday-school  that  may  not  be  well 


ORGANIZATION    AND    WORK  369 

filled  by  a  woman,  provided  no  man  can  be  found ;  and  the 
offices  of  librarian,  treasurer,  and  secretary  are  well  adapted 
to  members  of  the  gentle  sex. 

The  officers  having  been  selected  and  the  means  having  been 
furnished,  it  remains  for  the  pastor,  as  general-in-chief  of  the 
army,  to  see  to  it  that  his  officers  are  rightly  led,  instructed, 
restrained,  encouraged,  rewarded.  If  things  go  ill,  he  is  to 
blame.  If  the  librarian  is  ignorant,  the  pastor  can  enlighten 
him,  or  at  least  can  give  him  such  literature  on  the  question 
as  shall  effect  that  result.  If  the  music  goes  badly,  and  the 
leader  is  behind  the  times,  the  pastor  can  do  much  toward 
remedying  matters.  With  time,  patience,  and  work,  it  is  sur- 
prising how  a  pastor  can  influence  every  department  of  Sun- 
day-school work,  and  make  his  laymen  effective  in  their  vari- 
ous places  of  responsibility.  Would  that  our  theological 
seminaries  would  spend  less  time  in  teaching  the  church  his- 
tory of  one  thousand  years  ago,  and  more  time  in  showing  the 
students  how  to  shape  the  church  history  of  one  thousand 
years  hence,  by  wise  methods  of  work  to-day  ?  But  perhaps 
this  is  too  large  a  hope.  In  spite,  however,  of  much  defective 
seminary  training,  much  can  be  done  by  the  pastor,  if  only 
he  have  a  heart  to  work  in  this  direction. 


II.   TEACHERS 

The  time  was  when  every  layman  was  expected  to  be  a 
preacher  (see  Acts  vii.  4).  The  time  came  when  preaching 
and  teaching  was  restricted  to  the  clergy.  The  laity  were 
enjoined  to  hold  their  peace.  The  time  has  now  come  when 
in  aU  Protestant  bodies  the  laity  are  again  becoming  active 
workers  in  the  church.  Even  in  Roman  Catholic  chui'ches, 
in  this  land,  they  have  Sunday-schools  with  laymen  as  teach- 
ers. We  now  understand  that  no  church  can  prosper  that 
leans  on  its  pastor  for  the  doing  of  everything.  Ephesians  iv., 
12,  properly  punctuated,  reads :  ^^  And  he  gave  pastors  and 
teachers,  for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints  for  the  work  of  the 
ministry."  That  is,  the  saints  were  to  be  perfected  (properly 
prepared)  for  work,  through  pastors  and  ordained  teachers. 
Teaching  is  thus  a  duty  as  well  as  a  privilege,  and  any  one 
24 


370  THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

called  on  by  the  pastor  for  this  service  is  bound  to  give  good 
cause  why  he  should  be  excused.  Church-members  are 
Christ's  soldiers,  and  when  called  upon  for  active  service,  the 
burden  of  proof  in  favor  of  exemption  lies  in  them.  Too 
often,  alas!  members  feel  and  act  as  though  it  required  a 
direct  revelation  from  Heaven  to  convince  them  that  they 
have  anything  to  do  with  the  active  work  of  the  church. 
They  regard  themselves  as  passengers,  who,  having  paid  their 
fare,  in  the  shape  of  pew-rent,  must  be  left  in  peace.  That 
this  is  true  may  be  seen  by  the  fact  that  the  churches  in  which 
one-half  or  even  one-quarter  of  the  members  are  doing  any 
work  are  exceedingly  few.  One  of  the  most  difficult  of 
"  Parish  Problems  "  lies  just  here. 

But,  turning  from  this  part  of  the  theme,  we  would  call 
attention  now  to  the  teacher's  work.  It  may  be  divided  into 
two  heads : 

First.  Work  outside  of  the  class. 

Second.  Work  inside  of  the  class. 

First  and  foremost,  under  the  first  head,  comes  the  study 
of  the  lesson.  Fortunately,  the  helps  to  this,  in  our  days,  are 
numerous  and  most  excellent.  The  very  best  minds  in  the 
land  are  at  work,  preparing  the  lessons  for  the  army  of  teach- 
ers. Let  the  teacher  avail  himself  of  such  help.  Let  him  not 
be  deterred  by  the  cry  of  "crutches,"  which  he  may  per- 
chance hear  at  conventions.  So  far  as  we  have  observed, 
this  ciy  is  generally  raised  by  ministers  whose  library  shelves 
are  full  of  commentaries,  and  who  never  go  into  the  pulpit 
without  a  manuscript  sermon.  Crutches  are  good  for  lame 
people,  and  most  teachers  are  lame  at  the  first,  anyway.  Use 
these  lesson-help  ''  crutches,'^  then,  so  long  as  you  need  them, 
but  all  the  time  aim  to  walk  alone  so  far  as  is  possible.  No 
teacher  is  fit  to  go  before  any  class  without  careful  and  prayer- 
ful preparation  of  the  lesson.  And  yet  we  have  known  a 
teacher  chide  the  class  for  not  preparing  the  lesson  before 
they  came  to  the  class,  who  himself  had  more  than  once  asked 
the  class,  "Where  is  the  lesson  to-day?  I  really  have  not 
looked  at  it." 

But  besides  the  study  of  the  lesson,  there  are  many  ways  in 
which  teachers  may  supplement  and  reenforce  their  work  in 


ORGANIZATION    AND    WORK  371 

the  class.  Visiting  the  scholars  in  their  homes  is  one  of  these. 
In  unruly  classes  this  is  a  great  lever  in  the  hands  of  the 
teacher.  Rude  boys  are  almost  always  less  rude  if  the  teacher 
has  called  upon  them  in  their  homes,  or  has  invited  the  boys 
to  her  home.  We  have  repeatedly  seen  a  complete  transfor- 
mation wrought  in  the  deportment  of  a  class  of  rude  boys  by 
one  sociable  given  by  the  teacher.  In  large  cities  much  may 
be  done  by  letter- writing.  In  the  average  class  of  say  eight 
scholars,  one  letter  a  week  would  give  each  of  the  scholars 
six  letters  a  year,  and  yet  not  over-burden  the  teacher.  Our 
scholars  prize  letters  far  more  than  we  are  apt  to  think. 
Every  teacher  should,  if  possible,  receive  some  good  Sunday- 
school  periodical  and  read  it  carefully.  He  may  there  find 
many  hints  as  to  ways  of  working  which  will  prove  very  use- 
ful to  him.  In  addition  to  such  ways  of  working  outside  of 
the  class,  we  would  earnestly  recommend  every  teacher  to 
attend  every  Sunday-school  convention  which  may  be  held 
within  his  reach.  Such  gatherings  are  very  helpful,  not  only 
because  information  is  there  received,  but  because  enthusiasm 
is  enkindled  and  fresh  energy  imparted. 

Second.  Work  inside  of  the  class.  There  are  certain  char- 
acteristics of  a  good  teacher  which  are  very  easily  discerned. 
The  good  teacher,  for  example,  is  always  prompt  in  attendance. 
If  ever  he  is  late,  it  is  because  something  very  unusual  has 
happened  to  detain  him,  as,  for  instance,  an  earthquake,  or  a 
cyclone,  or  his  own  death.  Otherwise  he  is  always  in  his  place 
in  time.  The  good  teacher  always  greets  his  scholars  pleas- 
antly and  speaks  to  them  individually  before  the  school  opens. 
He  is  always  ready  to  support  and  honor  the  superintendent, 
and  never  criticises  him  before  the  class.  By  example,  the  good 
teacher  leads  the  scholars  to  unite  in  responsive  readings, 
and  (if  possible)  in  singing.  The  good  teacher  sees  to  it 
that  his  scholars  take  out  good  library  books,  and  that  his 
class  gives  heartily  and  regularly  to  the  missionary  offering. 
Above  all,  the  good  teacher  is  never  satisfied  until  he  sees  his 
scholars  converted  to  Christ,  and  growing  in  every  di\^ne 
grace.  To  this  end,  the  good  teacher  will  seek  for  chances  to 
speak  to  and  pray  with  each  member  of  the  class,  alone,  that 
by  personal  influence,  as  well  as  teaching,  the  class  may  be  led 


372  THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

to  the  blessed  Saviour.  If  thus,  out  of  the  class,  and  iu  the 
class,  the  disciple  works  faithfully,  the  scholars  will  be  blessed 
and  the  teacher  will  realize  that  there  is  no  more  joyful  work 
in  all  the  world  than  that  of  teaching  immortal  souls. 

III.  THE  HOUR 

There  is  no  best  hour  for  meeting.  At  the  same  time  some 
hours  have  fewer  drawbacks  than  others.  Many  schools  meet 
at  9.80  A.  M.,  and  pass  right  from  school  to  church.  This 
makes  a  large  draught  on  the  endurance  of  the  younger  schol- 
ars, who,  only  too  often,  compromise  matters  by  absenting 
themselves  from  the  church  services  entirely.  It  also  brings 
the  school  into  the  church  services  somewhat  tired,  and  by  so 
much  unfitted  to  profit  by  the  sermon.  Many  schools  have 
their  sessions  after ,  the  morning  service.  This,  too,  makes 
too  great  a  demand  on  the  endurance  of  the  scholars  and 
teachers.  Besides,  the  school  hour  is  cut  short,  at  times,  by  a 
sermon  longer  than  usual,  and  yet  cannot  make  the  loss  good, 
at  the  other  end,  because  lunch,  or  dinner,  calls  loudly  for  the 
attention  of  the  school.  Other  schools,  again,  are  held  in  the 
afternoon.  Yet  this  has  the  disadvantage  of  calling  the  teach- 
ers from  their  homes  for  that  especial  service.  But  the  advan- 
tages of  an  afternoon  session  are  many.  In  the  first  place, 
there  is  time  enough.  The  exercises  need  not  be  infringed 
upon  by  an  unusually  long  sermon  nor  cut  short  by  the  din- 
ner hour.  Thus  due  attention  can  be  paid  to  the  devotional 
and  praise  service  without  curtailing  the  lesson  hour.  There 
is  no  sense  of  hurry,  and  that  in  itself  is  a  great  gain.  The 
morning  hours  are  no  longer  so  crowded  for  the  teachers,  and 
scholars  cannot  plead  "  too  long  service  "  for  non-attendance 
on  the  church  service.  The  experience  of  many  pastors,  both 
in  city  and  country  churches,  goes  to  show  that  for  the  major- 
ity of  churches  there  are  fewer  drawbacks  to  the  afternoon  as 
the  time  of  meeting  than  to  either  of  the  morning  hours 
usually  selected.  If  the  afternoon  be  the  time  chosen,  then 
one  hour  and  a  half  would  probably  be  the  best  length  of  the 
session.  There  is  always  sufficient  variety  in  Sunday-school 
exercises  to  prevent  the  time  from  dragging,  and  one  hour 
and  a  half  gives  ample  time  for  exercises  other  than  those  of 


ORGANIZATION    AND   WORK  373 

lesson-teaching.    As  a  suggestion,  we  submit  the  following 
plan  of  service : 

2.30.  Call  for  order.     Singing. 

2.35.  Prayer.  Practice  any  new  tunes  that  may 

2.38.  Singing.    Sing  several  hymns,    i  ractice  auy 

be  desirable.  •   <_  „^ 

2.50.  Responsive  reading  of  some  portions  of  Scripture. 

2.55.  Singing. 

3.00.  Responsive  reading  of  lesson. 

3.05.  Notices. 

3.08  -  3.45.  Lesson  study. 

3.45.  Singing. 

3.49.  Review  from  platform. 

3.55.  Singing  and  close. 

IV.  WORSHIP 

Ma^y  people  caU  everything  that  Precedes  the  sermon 
"prehminar/exercises."  This  is  a  sad  mistake.  Can  f.  ^  "_ 
shiB  of  God  in  prayer  and  praise  be  properly  eaUed  pre 
Senary-?  So,  too,  they  call  the  devotional  part  of  the 
Sa^school  hour  '''  opening  exercises."  Th.s  too  ,s  wrong ; 
worship  is  more  than  a  mere  "opening  exercise";  it  is  as 
ZltLt  as  lesson-study,  and  we  think  i*  Wd  ,be  as  w  U 
to  call  the  lesson-study  a  "  supplementary  exercise    as  to  caU 

T"LT;xrLr;Soois  nes . ...  ^^  ^ 
-i^^eSrt^c^tr^^^^ 

Tsh  around  on  their  various  errands,  and  subdued  disorder 
prevails.  All  this  is  radically  wrong.  It  mstiUs  into  the 
ToutMul  mind  the  idea  that  devotion  is  -  unimportant  th^^^^^^ 
which  "belongs  to"  the  school  session,  but  calls  for  no  espe 
ri;rlnLn.^In  my  opinion  as  --^  «- f  ° ^rs l/o^  S 
this  p.art  of  the  service  as  to  any  other.  Scholars  should  be 
•  St  the  meaning  of  "  joining  in  prayer  "  -d  ^he  na  ;i^ 
tuneful  worship.  Reverent  attitude  should  be  insisted  on 
and  tLchers  an'l  officers, byexampleas  well  asprecep^^^^^^^^^^ 

keep  their  scholars  so  that  a  devotional  spirit  might  be  c^lti 
vated,  as  well  as  a  reverent  posture  of  body^     ^ Jhis  way 
the  whole  tone  of  the  school  will  be  raised,  and  it  will  be  felt 
to  be  a  religious  gathering. 


IV 

THE    LESSON 

THE  Sunday-school  is  a  school,  and  must  have  its  lessons. 
It  is  a  church-school,  and  must  teach  the  lessons  which  it 
is  the  business  of  the  church  to  teach.  It  is  not,  indeed,  the 
only  department  of  the  church  which  teaches,  but  it  is  intended 
to  supplement  and  cooperate  with  the  other  departments, —  the 
home,  the  pulpit,  the  prayer-meeting,  the  fellowship-meeting, 
and  the  religious  press, —  all  of  which  are  designed  to  teach. 
The  Sunday-school  furnishes  special  arrangements  by  which 
good  teaching  is  facilitated, —  the  subdivision  into  smaU 
classes  ;  the  appointment  of  trained  and  experienced  teachers ; 
the  assignment  of  lessons ;  the  provision  of  helps  in  prepara- 
tion for  both  teachers  and  pupils ;  the  adjustment  of  the  pro- 
gramme to  uninterrupted  class  work,  and  an  after-review  from 
the  superintendent's  desk.  The  distinctive  idea  of  the  Sunday- 
school  is  that  of  study  j  worship  is  incidental.  Or,  we  may  say 
that  it  is  introduced  as  a  help  to  profitable  study. 

The  Sunday-school  must  therefore  have  its  lessons;  and 
these  must  be  drawn  from  the  Word  of  God,  and  from  that 
only.  The  Sunday-school  is  a  Bible-school ;  and  the  study  of 
the  Bible  is  work  enough  for  the  institution.  It  would  be 
enough  if  the  school  were  to  spend  upon  it  three  hours  of 
every  day  in  the  week.  The  Bible  is  a  great  book,  and  full, 
and  rich.  The  habit  of  reading  and  meditating  upon  its  con- 
tents is  invaluable  in  an  intellectual  way.  It  stimulates  the 
imagination,  strengthens  the  reason,  quickens  the  perceptions, 
gives  insight  into  human  character,  tones  up  the  conscience, 
promotes  self-knowledge,  begets  a  healthful  self-distrust  and 
then  a  genuine  self-confidence.  But  then  the  grace  of  God 
acts  through  the  truth  of  God.  It  is  the  medium  of  super- 
natural energies.  Spiritual  quickening,  conversion,  sanctifica- 
tion,  strength,  and  the  grace  to  hve  a  holy  life  come  to  the 
soul  of  man  through  the  Word  of  God.  We  do  not  claim 
that  there  is  a  latent,  divine  energy  in  the  Scriptures,  but  we 

374 


THE    LESSON  375 

do  claim  that  under  certain  conditions  a  divine  energy  does 
operate  through  it.  There  is  no  efficient  electricity  in  the  sus- 
pended wire  of  the  telegraph,  but  under  specified  conditions 
that  wire  becomes  the  pathway  of  an  invisible  fire  that 
flashes,  in  a  second  of  time,  from  shore  to  shore.  Now,  the 
Sunday-school  is  set  apart  for  the  study  of  the  Word  of  God ; 
for  the  study  of  its  letter,  for  the  seeking  of  its  spiritual  mean- 
ings, and  for  the  life  which  it  brings  to  the  soul.  A  Sun- 
day-school that  does  not  make  Bible  study  —  with  a  relig- 
ious purpose — its  one  all-controUing  object  is  not  a  true 
Sunday-school. 

Arrange  these  lessons  as  you  will, —  into  ^'regular  lessons" 
and  "  special  lessons,'^  or  into  lessons  for  the  Sunday-school 
session  proper,  and  lessons  for  the  week-day,  or  into  the  pres- 
ent popular  di\dsion  of  "  international  lessons  "  and  "  supple- 
mental lessons," —  but  let  everything  taught  in  the  Sunday- 
school  be  brought  out  of  the  Bible,  as  the  one  only  text-book 
of  the  institution.  The  mode  is  not  a  matter  of  much 
moment.  That  the  school  really  studies  the  Holy  Scriptures 
is  the  main  thing. 

The  Bible  lesson  shoidd  be  studied  Bible  in  hand.  This  is 
for  many  reasons  the  better  way,  but  not  always  most  con- 
venient. It  should  be  urged  upon  teachers  and  scholars.  A 
little  effect  may  soon  overcome  the  reluctance  which  most 
persons  feel,  and  everybody  in  the  Sunday-school  may  own 
and  use  a  Bible.  But  it  will  not  do  to  talk  as  though  we  are 
not  studying  the  Bible  at  all,  simply  because  we  have  in  hand 
one  of  its  sixty-six  books,  or  one  of  the  chapters  or  para- 
graphs from  one  of  the  books,  instead  of  the  entire  volume. 
Such  talk  is  fanaticism.  A  man  may  be  a  student  of  Homer 
or  Virgil,  of  Shakespeare  or  Wordsworth,  even  though  he  use 
a  school  text-book  containing  but  a  poem  or  two  from  each  of 
these  authors.  When  Jesus  was  in  the  synagogue  at  Nazareth, 
"  there  was  delivered  unto  him  the  book  of  the  Prophet  Isaiah," 
and  out  of  that  he  read,  and  then  expounded  its  contents.  He 
did  not  have  in  hand  at  the  time  the  roU  of  the  law  of  Moses, 
nor  the  book  of  Psalms,  but  yet  he  read  and  expounded  '^  this 
Scripture."  Let  us  have  common  sense  and  discretion,  while 
we  try  to  do  the  best  work  we  can  for  our  pupils  ;  and  whether 


376  THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

we  use  modern  question  books,  lesson-leaves,  books  of  tbe 
Bible  published  in  separate  covers,  the  New  Testament,  or  the 
whole  twelve  hundred  pages  of  the  Bible  itself,  let  us  teach 
to  those  who  come  to  us  the  quick  and  powerful  Word  of  God. 

Human  helps  are  not  to  be  discarded  in  teaching  the  Sun- 
day-school lesson.  What  are  sermons  but  human  helps? 
What  minister  discards  commentators?  But  human  helps 
are  to  be  selected  carefully  and  used  judiciously.  They  should 
be  consulted  as  much  as  possible  at  home,  and  as  little  as  pos- 
sible in  the  class.  They  should  be  used  at  home,  only  after 
careful,  personal,  independent,  prayerful  study  of  the  lesson 
by  teacher  or  scholar.  He  who  will  not  think  on  his  own 
account,  because  he  has  helps  to  consult,  will  not  be  likely  to 
think  independently  when  he  has  no  helps.  The  clergyman 
without  a  library  will  not  preach  better  nor  more  original 
and  vigorous  sermons  than  the  clergjonan  who  has  access  to 
all  the  best  expositors  and  sermonizing  of  the  Christian  ages. 

The  ''  uniform  lesson,"  or  the  idea  of  the  same  lesson  in  all 
the  classes  of  a  school,  has  come  not  only  to  embrace  the 
thought  of  the  same  lesson  in  all  the  schools  of  a  community 
city,  state,  or  country,  but  to  take  the  wider  sweep,  like  the 
week  of  prayer,  of  all  Sunday-schools  in  all  denominations 
throughout  Christendom.  To  a  very  remarkable  degree,  the 
movement  in  this  direction  has  proved  successful. 

The  advantages  of  the  uniform  scheme  are  many.  It  in- 
creases the  value  of  the  teachers'  meeting;  it  encourages  Bible 
study  at  home,  every  member  of  the  family  circle  being  inter- 
ested in  one  subject ;  it  utilizes  all  the  exercises  of  the  Sun- 
day-school session, —  hymn,  prayer,  and  general  addresses, — 
and  makes  all  contribute  to  the  impressing  of  one  great 
thought ;  it  makes  general  reviews  possible  and  effective ;  it 
gives  the  pastor  opportunity  to  supervise  the  work  of  Biblical 
instruction  in  his  school;  it  increases  his  advantage  in  the 
pulpit,  and  makes  practicable  a  curriculum  of  Biblical  study 
in  his  whole  church. 

The  adoption  of  this  lesson  scheme  beyond  the  single  school 
and  denomination  has  great  advantages.  It  advertises  Bible 
study  in  the  community ;  it  exalts  the  Bible  over  the  creeds  ; 
it  increases  Biblical  research  by  securing  a  richer  literature  — 


THE    LESSON  377 

all  periodicals  striving  to  furnisli  the  best  helps  on  the  current 
lessons;  it  gives  a  topic  of  conversation  to  Sunday-school 
people  when  they  meet  casually  during  the  week  ;  it  promotes 
a  comparison  of  methods  for  studying  and  teaching  a  lesson ; 
it  makes  possible  a  general  teachers'  meeting,  where  the  best 
talent  of  each  church  may  be  used  for  the  benefit  of  all  the 
rest ;  it  is  preeminently  adapted  to  us  as  a  traveling  nation,  so 
that,  to  whatever  neighborhood  or  State  our  teachers  or  schol- 
ars may  journey  for  a  visit,  for  summer  recreation  or  for  per- 
manent residence,  they  will  keep  up  the  same  course  of  study, 
and  always  know  where  to  open  their  Bible  to  find  the  Sun- 
day-school lesson  on  a  given  day  5  and  again,  it  publishes  to 
the  world  the  true  unity  of  the  Christian  church,  which  appeals 
to  the  Bible  as  its  final  authority,  and  is  able  to  study  in  har- 
mony its  wonderful  contents. 

The  international  idea  is  a  still  further  and  even  more  sub- 
lime development  of  the  lesson  system.  It  is  the  protest  of 
the  Christian  heart  against  the  attempted  unity  of  the  Babel- 
builders  against  the  God  of  heaven,  and  the  perpetuation  of 
that  Pentecostal  time  when  the  tongues  of  all  nations  were 
heard  in  Jerusalem  proclaiming  the  praise  of  Christ.  It  fos- 
ters a  blessed  sentiment  of  universal  Christian  unity,  stretches 
a  cable  of  sympathy  around  the  globe,  and  tends  to  the  fulfill- 
ment of  the  prophecy,  '^  The  knowledge  of  the  Lord  shall 
cover  the  earth."  The  extent  of  the  international  scheme  is  a 
surprise  to  those  who  projected  it. 

The  seven-years'  course  of  Bible  lessons  begun  in  1873, 
embracing  in  its  selections  more  than  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
lessons,  for  the  most  part  chronological  in  their  arrangement, 
was  again  begun  in  1880,  and  closed  on  the  last  Sunday  of 
December,  1886.  The  third  series  began  in  1887,  and  will  con- 
tinue for  seven  years  longer.  These  lessons  cover  all  the 
salient  topics  of  the  Bible  every  seven  years,  and  constitute 
the  basis  for  a  complete  system  of  Bible  study  in  the  church. 
The  lad  of  five  years  who  in  1873  studied  the  stories  of  Gen- 
esis, after  having  taken  a  child's  \dew  of  the  whole  Bible, 
began  again  at  twelve  years  of  age  in  1880  to  study  the  same 
subjects,  and  in  1887,  as  a  young  man  of  nineteen,  he  again 
takes  up  the  same  course.     How  diiferent  his  shifting  points 


378  THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

of  vision !  How  admirable  the  plan  which  gives  him  this 
opportunity  for  the  comprehensive  and  progressive  study  of 
the  Word  of  God ! 

The  international  lesson  system  is  not  sufficient  for  the  pur- 
poses of  the  Sunday-school.  There  must  be  a  systematic 
arrangement  of  Bible  lessons,  which  shall  accompany  these 
more  general  selections — lessons  in  the  general  '' make-up"  of 
the  Bible,  as  a  book  of  many  books,  written  by  different  men 
in  different  ages,  and  for  different  ends ;  lessons  in  the  leading 
biographies  of  the  book ;  in  its  history,  geography,  institutions, 
laws,  doctrines,  and  provinces ;  lessons  in  the  church  history, 
general  and  denominational ;  lessons  in  missionary,  temperance, 
and  other  philanthropic  ministries ;  together  with  copious 
memory-lessons  by  which  choice  portions  of  Scripture,  the 
hymns  of  the  Christian  ages,  and  the  vigorous  and  simple 
catechism  of  the  church  may  be  put  into  the  minds  of  our 
youths.  These  ^^supplemental"  lessons  are  indispensable  to 
the  success  of  the  school  as  a  part  of  the  church. 


V 

GRADING  THE   SCHOOL 

A  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  will,  if  left  alone,  grade  itself.  Per- 
sonal likes  and  dislikes  will  grade  it.  Scholars  who 
''  take  to  "  each  other  will  "  take  to  "  a  teacher,  and  the  lines  be 
drawn  between  "  our  class  "  and  "  the  rest."  Social  standing 
will  adjust  matters,  and  the  avenues  of  the  city  or  the  style 
of  the  hat  wiU  run  their  lines  through  the  aisles  and  across 
the  benches  of  the  Sunday-school.  But  all  such  grading  is 
evil  and  ^vill  work  evil.  It  is  not  well  to  have  a  Sunday-school 
grade  itself. 

The  school  must  break  up  into  certain  general  divisions. 
Little  people  who  cannot  read  and  scarcely  know  their  letters 
will  drop  into  one  corner  or  be  put  into  one  room,  and  then  we 
have  the  infant  or  the  primary  grade.  Very  old  people  who 
use  glasses,  when  they  look  into  the  Word,  and  middle-aged 
people  who,  whether  they  use  glasses  or  not,  do  have  a  Liking 
for  "doctrine"  and  " controversy '^  and  "hard  questions,"  — 
these  all  will  get  into  the  same  neighborhood  and  constitute, 
however  unwise  and  undiscriminating  the  ground  of  their 
association  may  be,  the  old  folks'  grade.  Young  people  who 
are  not  old,  and  who  don't  care  one  iota  for  doctrine,  and  who 
do  detest  both  controversy  and  hard  questions,  and  who  take 
but  the  slightest  interest  in  anything  except  dress  and  man- 
ners and  good  looks  and  a  good  time, —  these  will  fall  into  a 
conspicuous  place,  and  have  a  teacher  assigned  to  them  (God's 
pity  on  the  teacher  ! ),  and  constitute  the  young  people's  grade. 
Well,  between  the  infants  and  the  young  people  comes  a 
turbulent  crowd  of  boys  and  girls,  of  different  ages  and  dif- 
ferent social  conditions  and  different  standing  in  the  day- 
schools.  They  go  together  —  that  is,  the  boys  go  on  one  side 
and  the  girls  on  the  other  side  of  the  central  space  left  for 
them  ;  and  in  classes  organized  in  part  by  themselves,  in  part 
by  the  teachers,  and  in  part  by  the  superintendent  consti- 
tute the  intermediate  or  middle  grade  of  the  school.     There 


380  THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

you  have  a  graded  school  organized  by  a  sort  of  natural  selec- 
tion. All  schools  will  gravitate  into  some  such  general 
assortment  of  material:  infant,  intermediate,  young  people, 
and  old  people.  That  is  a  graded  school  of  one  kind;  and 
whatever  other  standards  you  employ,  your  work  will  begin 
with  this  general  division,  and  when  you  are  through,  this 
same  general  division  will  remain. 

Many  years  ago,  in  1855,  and  notably  in  1857,  the  writer  of 
these  pages  conducted  a  graded  Sunday-school.  He  was  not 
the  superintendent,  but  he  was  both  pastor  and  assistant 
superintendent  at  that  time,  and  for  years  after.  He  believed 
that  as  pastor  he  could  make  suggestions,  and  as  assistant 
superintendent  carry  them  out  through  the  superintendent. 
His  theory  was  correct,  and  so  far  as  his  own  practice  was 
concerned,  he  had  no  difficulty  whatever  in  securing  the 
hearty  cooperation  of  his  associates  in  office.  There  is  no 
plan  which  in  these  thirty-five  years  of  Sunday-school  ser- 
vice he  has  been  permitted  to  suggest  and  defend  which  he 
did  not  himseK  test  in  the  actual  management  of  a  Sunday- 
school.  In  1857  he  had  a  school  in  which  were  primary, 
intermediate,  senior,  adult,  normal,  and  supplemental  grades. 
The  normal  class  studied  diligently,  and  every  Sunday  recited 
from  James  Inglis's  admirable  manual  on  "  The  Sunday- 
school,"  pursuing  at  the  same  time  a  course  of  lessons  on  the 
^'  Life  of  Paul,"  based  on  Conybeare  and  Howson's  work.  Every 
Saturday  the  writer  drOled  a  large  class  in  Bible  history  and 
geography  by  the  use  of  maps,  blackboard,  and  lesson-cards. 
Every  Sabbath  the  regular  lesson  of  the  day  was  supple- 
mented by  catechetical  drills  from  the  desk  in  lessons  on  the 
^^  Books  of  the  Bible,"  the  ^^  Catechism  of  the  Church,"  or  other 
"  '^  Memory-lessons." 

In  1878  the  following  outline  of  a  scheme  of  study  for  a 
graded  school  in  connection  with  the  International  Series 
was  presented  at  the  International  Convention  in  Atlanta, 
Georgia :  (1)  The  Primary,  which  shall  cover  two  years,  em- 
bracing the  lessons  of  the  International  course ;  a  few  of  the 
Psalms ;  a  simple  catechism  on  the  Bible  as  a  book ;  simple 
outlines  of  Bible  history  and  geography ;  selections  from  the 
church  catechism,  and  two  or  three  standard  hymns.    (2)  The 


GRADING    THE    SCHOOL  381 

Intermediafej  which  shall  cover  two  years,  during  which  the 
pupil  studies  the  International  lessons ;  commits  to  memory 
certain  selected  texts;  is  drilled  in  an  advanced  course  of 
Bible  history  and  geography ;  gives  more  study  to  the  Bible 
as  a  book  of  books;  takes  up  church  catechism  No.  2; 
commits  more  church  hymns,  and  is  taught  a  few  lessons  in 
temperance  and  missionary  work.  The  pupil  now  passes  into 
(3)  TJie  Senior,  which  shall  cover  three  years,  continuing  the 
International  lessons ;  committing  more  choice  texts  of  Script- 
ure ;  studying  more  thoroughly  the  outlines  of  Bible  history 
and  geography ;  the  advanced  catechism  of  the  church ;  more 
hymns;  outlines  of  church  history,  general  and  denominational, 
and  more  temperance  and  missionary  lessons.  (4)  The  Advanced 
follows.  This  has  no  limit  as  to  time.  It  shall  embrace  the 
International  series;  special  classes  for  exegetical  studies; 
lectures  on  the  evidences,  church  history,  the  relations  of 
science  and  religion;  courses  of  sermons  on  systematic  the- 
ology ;  a  series  of  text-books  bearing  on  these  and  other  topics 
to  be  read  and  studied,  and  a  normal  class  for  those  who  are 
to  be  the  teachers  of  the  Sunday-school  later  on. 

These  general  plans  are  capable  of  an  infinite  variety  of 
modifications  and  adaptations.  The  fundamental  principles 
remain  the  same,  whatever  outward  and  systematic  form  they 
may  take. 

There  is  a  temptation  to  carry  the  idea  of  gradation  too  far, 
and  to  seek  in  the  Sunday-school  the  precision  of  method 
which  prevails  in  our  secular  schemes.  The  promotion  of 
pupils  from  grade  to  grade  or  from  class  to  class,  at  given 
times  and  under  the  working  of  a  stereotyped  plan,  may  prove 
to  the  last  degree  pernicious.  In  the  secular  school,  wisely 
or  unwisely,  a  given  system  is  introduced  and  operated  with- 
out regard  to  circumstances.  What  may  prove  on  the  whole 
useful  there  may  be  most  disastrous  in  the  Sunday-school, 
which  is  other  and  more  than  a  day-school.  G-radation  by 
attainment,  after  the  test  of  examination,  might  separate  a 
pupil  from  a  teacher  whose  simple  relation  (sacred  as  that  of 
the  pastorate  itself,  and  somewhat  akin  to  it)  is  worth  more  in 
one  Sunday's  fellowship  than  would  be  possible  to  that  pupil 
under  another  teacher,  however  gifted  and  efficient,  for   a 


382  THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

whole  year.  The  rule  of  the  heart  is  a  mightier  dominion 
than  that  of  the  intellect.  In  the  secular  school,  the  brain 
and  all  that  pertains  to  it  is  in  the  ascendant,  and  gradation 
and  promotion  are  practicable.  But  in  the  Sunday-school, 
the  heart  and  all  that  has  to  do  with  mutual  love  and  trust, 
and  personal  influence  with  all  its  mystical  energies, —  these  are 
dominant,  and  long  may  they  remain  so.  Sunday-school  is 
Sunday-school,  and  not  secular  school.  It  may  gather  many 
lessons  from  the  wise  masters  of  pedagogy,  and  it  may  teach 
them  some  lessons,  worth  as  much  as  any  they  have  to  give ; 
but  we  must  not  let  an  iron  system  of  lessons,  years,  and  pro- 
motions cut  off  heart-strings  and  sever  cables  of  spiritual 
influence.  Let  us  be  a  Sunday-school,  with  religious  impulses, 
purposes,  and  experiences  predominant,  while  we  use,  and  use 
well,  all  the  secular  accessions  which  are  so  much  glorified, 
and  perhaps  none  too  much  in  these  days  of  education  and 
progress. 

There  are  several  admirable  graded  schools  in  the  United 
States,  and  they  are  making  experiments  and  steadily  modi- 
fying their  systems,  seeking  and  expecting  to  find  an  approx- 
imately perfect  system  of  Sunday-school  gradation. 


VI 
THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE  AND  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

THE  Sunday-school  has  the  name  of  being  a  children's 
school,  and  in  most  places  such  it  is.  Children's  songs, 
children's  talks,  children's  lessons,  children's  papers  are 
found  in  it.  An  announcement  of  a  Sunday-school  sermon  in 
the  church,  on  a  given  day,  leads  everybody  to  expect  a  sermon 
to  or  a  sermon  about  children.  Historically,  the  Sunday- 
school  is  a  children's  institution.  So  far,  well,  because  chil- 
dren need  the  Sunday-school  and  it  should  be  adapted  to  them 
—  to  their  tastes  and  to  their  needs.  They  should  feel  at  home 
there,  and  as  the  best  grammar  school  and  the  best  primary 
school  are  better  suited  to  children  than  the  higher  forms  of 
the  high  school,  or  the  recitation-rooms  and  methods  of  the 
college,  so  should  the  Sunday-school,  be  adapted  to  children. 

Unfortunately,  all  superintendents  are  not  able  to  organize 
and  conduct  the  school  so  as  to  make  it  most  attractive  or 
useful  even  to  little  people.  Few  people  in  this  Tvorld  under- 
stand children  ;  few  grown-up  people  sympathize  with  them, 
and  very  few  are  able  to  teach  or  talk  to  them  sensibly  or 
profitably.  Men  try  to  ^'  adapt "  themselves  to  what  is  called 
"•  the  juvenile  capacity,"  and  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  make 
ridiculous  failures ;  and  give,  instead  of  simplicity,  childish- 
ness, and  instead  of  adaptation,  a  puerility  which  excites  the 
contempt  even  of  the  children. 

Mature  and  aged  men  and  w^omen  are  not  so  much  annoyed 
by  this  blunder  as  are  the  little  people  themselves.  They 
merely  smile  at  the  silliness,  which  finds  place  in  song,  speech, 
and  programme,  supposing  that  these  are  all  legitimate  and 
necessary,  and  they  bear  patiently  ^^  for  the  sake  of  the  chil- 
dren" what  the  children  neither  need  nor  relish. 

But  meanwhile  serious  damage  is  being  done  in  another 
quarter.  There  are  more  than  two  classes  —  the  children  and 
the  old  people  —  in  our  Sunday-schools.  There  is  another 
class,  made  up  of  pupils  who  are  neither  children  nor  adults  — 


384  THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

the  "  young  people  "  of  the  community,  who  are  more  in  need 
than  either  (if  that  be  possible)  of  religious  instruction  and 
influence,  and  who  are  far  more  sensitive  than  the  children 
themselves  to  the  vapidities  already  deplored.  While  parents 
and  other  old  people  endure  these  absurdities  through  the 
mistaken  idea  that  they  are  indispensable,  the  young  people 
are  often  simply,  disgusted  j  and  whether  they  leave  the  school, 
or  through  respect  for  parents  or  the  demands  of  conscience 
remain  in  it,  they  are  repelled  to  a  degree  not  appreciated 
by  the  leaders  of  the  church. 

The  common  fame  of  the  school  as  a  meeting  place  of  chil- 
dren, only  aggravates  the  evil;  and  young  people  who  are 
not  children,  and  who,  more  than  ever  before  or  ever  after, 
dislike  being  regarded  as  children,  are  subjected  to  uncomfort- 
able treatment,  well  designed,  perhaps,  by  speakers,  teachers, 
and  superintendents,  but  resulting  in  alienation,  contempt, 
and  silent  resolve,  which  may  not  always  prove  as  disastrous 
as  they  promise,  but  which  are  injurious  enough  to  justify 
some  experiment  calculated  to  prevent  all  such  indifference  or 
antipathy. 

The  most  serious  problems  of  our  modern  home  and  church 
life  are  those  which  relate  to  the  young  people.  We  cannot 
here  attempt  a  full  answer,  but  must  call  the  attention  of  pas- 
tors and  church  officers  to  a  few  suggestions : 

First.  The  lines  should  be  drawn  as  sharply  in  the  Sunday- 
school  between  the  primary  and  intermediate  and  the  senior 
departments  as  in  our  public  school  system.  Children  and  all 
grades  of  adults  may  associate  in  the  public  service,  because 
there  they  represent  the  family  in  its  entirety ;  but  it  does  not 
seem  judicious  to  assign  girls  and  boys  (who  are  eager, 
whether  wisely  or  not,  speedily  to  outgrow  the  conditions  and 
limitations  of  childhood)  to  places  by  the  side  of  little  chil- 
dren. Wise  educators,  who  study  the  instincts  of  human 
nature  and  adjust  their  plans  accordingly,  are  cautious  in  this 
respect.  The  first  development  of  manhood  is  recognized 
and  its  importance  as  well  as  its  self-importance  appreciated. 
The  teachers  of  the  high  school  do  not  appeal  to  the  "  dear 
children,"  and  talk  childish  talk  in  monosyllabic  simplicity, 
with  illuminated  illustrations,  until  the  patience  of  every  sensi- 


THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE  AND  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL     385 

Lie  youtli  is  exhausted  and  his  indignation  excited.  The 
church  must  be  as  wise  as  the  world. 

Second.  Is  it  not  possible  to  limit  the  Sunday-school  itself 
to  children,  and  for  the  senior  pupils  provide  another,  higher, 
more  dignified  department  of  the  church,  and  give  to  it  a  dif- 
ferent name  ?  How  would  it  do  to  call  this  department  "  The 
Assembly,"  and  to  bring  into  it  the  young  people  over  fifteen 
years  of  age  ?  The  public  exercises  of  this  "  senior  grade  "  or 
^'  assembly"  should  be  of  a  somewhat  different  character  from 
those  of  the  Sunday-school.  There  should  be  a  difference  in 
the  adaptation  of  the  subject  matter  as  well  as  in  the  manner 
and  the  tone  of  the  service ;  lectures  and  outlines  in  the  place 
of  mere  drills ;  independent  statements  by  individual  pupils 
and  teachers,  instead  of  simultaneous  responses  j  a  higher 
class  of  music  ;  carefully  conducted  doctrinal  expositions  and 
discussions,  the  methods  of  the  college,  rather  than  those  of 
the  primary  or  gi-ammar  school,  controlling  the  hour. 

Third.  We  must  treat  our  older  pupils  with  less  levity,  with 
more  respect  and  seriousness ;  put  them  under  the  care  of  diii- 
creet  and  cultivated  teachers ;  place  in  their  hands  the  best 
and  strongest  literature;  enlist  them  in  organizations  for 
church  work,  for  personal,  intellectual  and  social  improve- 
ment ;  open  the  best  parlors  of  the  best  homes  in  the  church, 
under  proper  restrictions,  to  welcome  and  entertain  them ;  and 
above  all  seek  to  bring  them  to  an  early,  hearty,  and  complete 
surrender  of  themselves  to  the  service  of  God  and  man  in  the 
best  type  of  Christian  life. 


25 


VII 

SUNDAY-SCHOOL    BENEVOLENCE 

THE  most  perfect  scheme  of  liumanitariauism  is  that  of 
evangelical  Christianity.  It  makes  more  of  man  as  man, 
and  proposes  to  do  more  for  him  than  any  other  theory  of 
human  nature,  or  any  other  system  of  human  education  and 
improvement.  Its  fundamental  ideas  exalt  man  as  to  the 
source  of  his  being,  his  perils,  his  destiny,  and  as  to  the 
divine  provisions  for  his  restoration  from  sin,  and  future 
transformation  into  the  divine  likeness. 

It  is  weU  to  look  upon  man  as  a  physical  being,  and  to  feel 
pity  for  him  because  of  his  hunger  and  improvidence,  his  pains 
and  carelessness,  his  home  discomforts,  his  dissipations  and 
failures.  And  it  is  weU,  if  plans  of  help  be  wise,  and  wisely 
executed,  to  be  eager  to  give  him  aid  in  his  extremity.  But 
his  is  a  larger  benevolence  and  a  more  real  beneficence  who 
thinks  of  man  as  an  immortal  soul,  of  his  sorrows  and  dis- 
tresses as  either  results  of  his  own  wrong  doing  or  as  gracious 
interventions  for  his  present  discipline  and  future  benefit, 
and  who,  thinking  these  things,  proffers  the  best  help  that  one 
man  can  give  another  —  faith  in  God,  loathing  of  sin,  and  love 
of  hoHness.  It  is  a  good  thing  to  pity  and  feed  and  clothe 
the  body.  It  is  a  better  thing  to  pity  and  help  the  soul.  Truly 
wise  beneficence  looks  after  both  soul  and  body,  but  anxiety 
about  the  soul  of  man  supplies  the  highest  motive  for  minis- 
tering to  the  necessities  of  his  body. 

The  church  is  a  monument  on  the  earth,  commemorating 
the  royal  and  infinite  love  of  God  for  man.  It  teaches  the 
world  that  God  is  love,  that  Christ,  because  of  his  love,  came 
to  die  for  a  guilty  race.  Love  is  the  substance  of  all  the  law  he 
laid  down.  Love  is  the  subjective  force  from  which  spring 
all  spiritual  graces  and  delights  in  the  Christian  life.  The 
test  of  the  judgment  will  be  the  measure  of  love  for  Christ, 
as  manifested  in  ministry  of  relief  to  men.  The  church  is  a 
monument  and  a  fountain  of  love. 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL    BENEVOLENCE  387 

What  the  church  is,  the  Sunday-school  must  be.  What  the 
church  ought  to  do,  the  Sunday-school  ought  to  train  its  mem- 
bers to  do.  As  its  members  are  chiefly  children,  and  as,  con- 
sequently, the  church  of  to-morrow  is  the  Sunday-school  of 
to-day,  it  is  imperative  that  all  leaders  in  this  part  of  church 
activity  shall  keep  before  the  school  the  one  great  law  of  love 
for  man,  as  expressed  in  pity  for  his  sufferings,  grief  because 
of  his  sins,  and  honest,  indefatigable,  Christian  effort  for  his 
good.  If  there  is  a  place  where,  more  than  another,  the  nature, 
ends,  grounds,  and  methods  of  Christian  benevolence  should 
be  explained,  exalted,  and  illustrated,  that  place  is  the  Sunday- 
school. 

This  is  now  done,  but  to  a  very  limited  extent,  and  very 
often,  it  may  be  safely  said,  with  motives  as  mixed  as 
are  the  methods  questionable.  We  do  take  up  collections 
for  the  cause  of  foreign  missions,  and  in  emergencies  for 
churches  or  towns  that  have  been  burned  down,  blown  down, 
or  shaken  down,  or  for  sufferers  from  plagues,  savages,  or 
dynamite.  Pathetic  appeals  are  made,  money  is  raised,  the 
amount  reported  amidst  applause  from  the  crowd  that  gave  it, 
and  a  record  made  on  the  secretary's  book  for  future  refer- 
ence. And  children  are  taught  to  believe  that  this  is 
'•  benevolence !  '^ 

The  methods  of  giving  to  missionary  and  other  philanthropic 
causes  deserve  further  consideration.  The  earthly  motives, 
the  ingenious  plans,  the  carnal  rivalries,  the  puerile  displays 
which  accompany  missionary  collections  in  the  average  Sun- 
day-school may  be  ^^ necessary"  to  certain  financial  results, 
but  they  are  the  abuse  of  a  great  opportunity,  and  often  result 
in  more  harm  to  the  givers  than  they  can  confer  benefit  upon 
the  receivers.  The  funds  that  are  raised  to  promote  Christian 
humility  among  barbarians  abroad  should  not  in  the  raising 
develop  vanity  in  the  benefactors  at  home.  A  gift  intended 
to  foster  reverence  among  heathen  should  not  have  its  begin- 
ning in  frivolity  and  hilarity.  What  is  meant  to  make 
benighted  souls  on  foreign  shores  honest  and  unselfish  should 
not  develop  guile  and  ambition  in  our  own  churches.  These 
statements  are  made  and  reiterated  to  expose  certain  possible 
and  actual  evils  in  what  is  called  ^'  Sunday-school  benevolence." 


388  THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

Benevolence  must  express  itself  in  beneficence,  and  the 
act  of  help  must  be  intelligent.  The  Sunday-school  should 
foster  the  loving  impulse,  secure  the  prompt  effort,  and  direct 
the  whole  movement  by  a  full  knowledge  of  the  occasion  and 
the  grounds  of  the  action.  Intelligence  contributes  to  philan- 
thropy. The  church  needs  more  light  as  well  as  more  love 
in  missionary  and  in  all  eleemosynary  service.  Here,  then,  are 
three  things  to  be  done  in  promoting  Sunday-school  benevo- 
lence : 

First.  The  field  of  Sunday-school  helpfulness  is  to  be 
extended.  Children  must  do  more  than  contribute  to  foreign 
missions.  Every  cause  to  which  the  chui'ch  is  committed 
should  be  presented  to  the  Sunday-school  and  a  chance  sup- 
plied for  ^'  collections."  Little  children  should  become  familiar 
with  the  great  organizations  which  help  men  —  "  The  Bible 
Society,"  ''  The  Domestic  Missions,"  "  The  Foreign  Missions," 
"  The  Tract  Society,"  "  The  Sunday-school  Society,"  '^  Union" 
or  "  Department,"  ''  The  Freedmen's  Aid,"  ''  The  Church  Extent 
sion,"  "  The  Board  of  Education,"  '^The  Asylums,"  '^The  Poor 
of  the  Congregation,"  "  The  Mission-schools,"  with  their  ^^  Kin- 
dergartens," or  '^  Kitchen -gardens,"  "  The  Temperance  Move- 
ment," ^'  The  White  Cross,"  —  anything,  everything  with  sym- 
pathy and  help  in  it,  which  the  minister  approves  and  the 
church  officers  commend  should  have  a  hearing  in  the  Sunday- 
school,  even  where  the  collections  for  the  purpose  are  taken  in 
the  public  congregation.  Children  should  learn  that  giving  is 
a  means  of  grace,  and  that  non-giving  members  of  the  church 
yray  in  vain.  Thus  we  may  broaden  the  horizon  of  our  youth, 
and  cause  the  church  to  stand  in  the  center  of  a  larger  and 
nobler  world  than  they  had  dreamed  of  before. 

Second.  Intelligence  is  to  be  circulated  that  children  may- 
know  to  what  and  why  they  give.  What  a  fascinating,  and 
yet  what  a  solemn  world,  would  open  before  them,  if  the  facts 
of  history,  geography,  domestic  manners  and  customs,  social 
sufferings,  struggles  of  honest  poverty,  patience  under  pain 
and  bereavement,  and  all  the  range  of  possible  knowledge 
involved  in  the  subject,  were  to  be  presented  from  week  to 
week  in  Sunday-school,  in  the  pulpit,  and  at  special  meetings. 
Life  would  be  more  real,  the  church  would  seem  more  divine. 


SUNDAY-SCHOOL    BENEVOLENCE  389 

The  Sunday-school  would  enlist  deeper  and  livelier  sympathy. 
Children  would  respect  it  more. 

Third.  Feeling  and  action  should  go  hand  in  hand.  It  is 
not  enough  to  see  the  wide  and  various  world,  nor  to  know  all 
the  facts  which  it  furnishes.  The  facts  must  be  so  presented  as 
to  excite  pity.  The  provisions  made  for  help  should  be  as 
clearly  set  forth.  And  then,  at  once,  opportunity  should  be 
given  to  every  child  to  contribute  something  or  to  do  some- 
thing, or  in  some  way  to  deny  himself  toward  the  practical 
removal  of  the  evil,  relief  of  the  suffering,  or  prevention  of 
the  sin.  Then  would  the  Sunday-school  become  in  every  true 
sense  a  school  of  Christian  disciples,  who,  taking  the  Master's 
yoke  upon  them,  go  about,  as  did  he,  doing  good  to  men. 

Our  missionary  leaders,  who  now  have  almost  a  monopoly 
of  Sunday-school  benevolences,  need  not  fear  that  a  multipli- 
cation of  interests  and  demands  would  diminish  their  revenues. 
Indeed,  the  increase  of  knowledge  and  of  sympathy  for  which 
this  chapter  pleads  would  augment  confidence  in  the  mission- 
ary cause,  compassion  for  those  who  are  without  the  Gospel, 
and  contributions  to  the  society  which  aims  to  give  them  the 
word  of  life.  A  more  immediate  and  practical  sympathy  with 
next-door  guilt  and  want  and  sorrow  would  increase  sympathy 
with  the  wide  world  of  humanity,  and  lead  to  more  intelligent 
and  liberal  giving  to  the  race  at  large  "  in  his  name,"  who 
'^  tasted  death  for  every  man.^ 


VIII 

PERFORMANCES  AND   PRIZES 

I.      PUBLIC    EXERCISES 

BY  these  we  mean  Sunday-seliool  concerts,  Christmas 
festivals,  flower  festivals,  harvest  homes,  Easter  cele- 
brations, and  such  like.  In  large  city  schools  the  Sunday- 
school  concert  has  died  ontj  but  in  country  churches  it  is 
still  one  of  the  most  popular  of  services.  It  is  not  our  pur- 
pose, nor  does  our  space  permit  us,  to  give  minute  directions 
as  to  the  conduct  of  such  services.  We  can  only  call  atten- 
tion to  some  features  of  these  exercises  in  general,  which  we 
deem  objectionable,  and  thus  indicate  what,  in  our  judgment, 
should  be  the  governing  aims  of  all  public  meetings  managed 
by  Sunday-school  leaders. 

I.  Objectionable  Features,  (a.)  Recitations  by  the  very 
little  children  who  are  of  such  tender  age  as  to  require  a  chair 
to  stand  on  in  order  to  be  seen.  (We  have  even  seen  them 
placed  on  the  piano.)  These  little  ones  are  generally  over- 
dressed by  fond  mammas,  who  thus  combine  with  teachers 
and  officers  in  cultivating  pertness  on  the  part  of  the  ^^  rising 
generation.'^  (&.)  Any  exercises  so  elaborate  as  to  require  the 
school  to  surrender  part  of  the  lesson-time  for  ^'practice." 
Some  schools  are  thus  demoralized  once  or  twice  a  year  for 
several  weeks  at  a  time.  This  is  a  great  evil.  A  Brooklyn 
superintendent  tells  us  that  for  weeks  before  their  grand  out- 
door '^  Sunday-school  Parade,''  their  schools  are  much  injured 
by  the  preparation  and  anticipatory  excitement  of  the  scholars. 
ALL  drill  for  extra  ervices  shoidd  be  done  outside  of  the  les- 
son-time, (c.)  Dramatic  performances  are  not  well  in  our 
Sunday-school  work.  And  this  altogether  apart  from  their 
intrinsic  character.  To  substitute  Santa  Clans  for  the  Christ- 
child,  at  Christmas,  is  really  a  going  backward  to  heathenism 
and  an  abandonment  of  the  central  thought  at  Christmas-time. 
There  is  only  one  appropriate  theme  on  the  25th  of  December. 
So  at  Easter,  the  one  dominant  theme  of  the  season  should 

390 


PERFORMANCES    AND    PRIZES  391 

not  be  lost  sight  of,  or  even  partly  concealed  under  flowers. 
Easter  nowadays  has  developed  into  a  religious  "flower- 
show  and  concert"  in  too  many  of  our  churches,  and  the 
schools  show  a  tendency  to  follow  their  example. 

II.  The  Governing  Aims.  All  public  exercises  should  be 
distinctively  religious.  No  side  attractions  or  adornments 
should  be  so  exaggerated  as  to  hide  the  main  object  in  view. 
All  recitations,  flowers,  harvest  displays,  music,  dialogues, 
should  be  made  to  illustrate  the  one  thought  of  the  hour.  In 
this  way  our  public  exercises  would  not  be  less  interesting  to 
the  audiences,  but  they  would  be  far  more  profitable  to  all 
concerned. 

II.      REWARDS     AND     PRIZES 

Opinions  differ  widely  as  to  the  expediency  of  offering  pre- 
miums or  prizes  in  Sundaj'-school.  There  are  good  workers 
who  claim  that  by  offering  prizes  to  our  scholars  we  set  before 
them  low  and  sordid  motives.  The  scholars,  they  say,  should 
do  their  duty  for  the  love  of  it,  and  not  for  rewards  of  a  tem- 
poral nature.  On  the  other  hand,  is  it  not  true  that  Grod  has 
placed  all  effort  in  this  world  on  such  a  basis  that  effort  meets 
always  with  reward  ?  How  much  would  our  business  men  do 
were  they  to  meet  with  no  reward  for  their  labor,  other  than  the 
consciousness  of  having  done  their  duty  ?  Does  not  the  Bible 
hold  out  to  Christians  the  '^  recompense  of  the  reward,'^  as  a 
legitimate  motive  for  steadfast  endurance?  Does  not  Paul 
exhort  believers  so  to  run  that  they  may  obtain  the  prize? 
It  seems  to  us  that  if  we  base  our  reward  system  in  Sunday- 
school  on  the  same  principles  on  which  divine  rewards  are 
placed,  they  will  do  not  harm,  but  good.  Human  prizes  are 
given,  generally,  to  the  one  that  does  "best."  A  hundred 
may  run,  but  only  one  wins  the  prize.  Divine  rewards  are 
given  to  all  who  do  equal  work.  If  the  hundred  come  in 
abreast,  each  receives  a  prize  equal  to  that  of  the  others.  In 
some  schools  rewards  are  offered  the  scholar  who  memorizes 
the  largest  number  of  verses.  This  often  promotes  jealousy. 
Would  it  not  be  far  better  to  set  up  a  reasonable  standard, 
and  then  reward  every  scholar  who  attained  that  standard  ? 
This  is  the  system  adopted  in  many  fii-st-elass  schools,  and  so 


392  THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

far  as  our  experience  goes,  it  works  well.  Of  one  thing  we 
are  confident,  namely,  that  the  indiscriminate  giving  of  pres- 
ents at  Christmas  has  wrought  much  evil  in  our  large  mission 
schools.  The  universal  testimony  is  that  it  causes  a  rush  of 
children  into  the  school  shortly  before  the  time  for  the  distri- 
bution of  gifts^  who,  as  soon  as  they  have  received  their 
"plunder,"  again  graduate  into  the  streets  of  the  city.  All 
such  giving  works  evil,  and  evil  only.  If  rewards  are  given 
(and  we  believe  in  them)  they  should  be  given  for  merit  only, 
and  these  should  be  as  carefully  fitted  to  the  degree  of  merit 
as  is  possible. 


IX 
THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL   LIBRARY 

BOOKS  are  a  mighty  adjunct  in  religious  teaching.  The 
pastor  who  does  not  select  them  for  his  people,  commend 
them,  lend  them  to  his  people,  does  not  know  how  to  use  them 
for  himself.  The  circulating  library,  connected  with  the  church, 
is  an  admirable  instrument  to  guide  the  thoughts  and  stimu- 
late the  spiritual  life  of  the  people,  while  promoting  their  men- 
tal culture.  Where  the  home  or  public  library  is  good,  the 
Sunday-school  library  is  valuable  as  a  supplement.  Where  the 
home  library  is  bad,  it  is  valuable  as  a  substitute ;  and  where 
there  are  no  other  books  its  value  cannot  be  overestimated. 

It  is  not  necessary  here  to  pay  much  attention  to  current 
criticism  of  Sunday-school  books.  Much  of  it  is  given  by 
those  who  wish  to  have  it  understood  that  they  were  never 
so  weak  as  to  read  what  they  criticise ;  more  by  elderly  people 
who  base  on  early  recollections  judgments  which  are  as  useless 
as  other  criticisms  on  the  Sunday-school,  of  the  same  sort. 
Any  book  is  a  Sunday-school  book  which  can  be  used  to  help 
the  aims  of  the  Sunday-school ;  and  critici'Sms  of  the  Sunday- 
school  library  must  be  broad  enough  to  cover  all  such  books. 
The  use  and  selection  of  the  library  are  much  more  open  to 
criticism  than  the  books  themselves.  I  wiU  therefore  briefly 
summarize  some  statements  concerning  its  object,  selection, 
and  use,  which  I  have  made  at  greater  length  in  a  small  volume 
called  "  The  Sunday-school  Library.'^ 

I.  Its  Object.  It  seeks  the  same  results  as  the  sermon  or 
other  religious  teaching,  to  win  the  people  to  begin  Christian 
living,  and  to  stimulate  and  guide  them  in  its  enjoyments  and 
duties.  Its  aim  is  narrower  than  that  of  the  public  or  house- 
hold library,  just  as  the  aim  of  the  pulpit  and  Sunday-school 
is  narrower  than  that  of  the  lecture  platform  or  the  public 
school.  Books  which  have  no  higher  purpose  than  the  amuse- 
ment or  the  mental  cultivation  of  readers  do  not  belong  here. 
Sunday-school  books  should  promote  the  one  great  object  for 
which  the  church  exists. 

393 


394  THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

II.  Its  Selection.  The  books  should  be  those  and  only 
those  which  will  promote  the  object  of  the  church  and  school. 
They  should  convey  with  attractiveness  and  truthfulness 
moral  and  religious  truth. 

They  should  display  care  and  taste  in  their  production ,  and 
be  free  from  coarseness,  sentimentality,  or  exaggeration. 

They  should  be  chosen  to  fit  the  circumstances,  abilities,  and 
tastes  of  those  who  are  expected  to  read  them. 

They  should  be  numerous  and  various  as  sermons  are ;  for, 
the  object  of  the  library  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  sermon. 
We  do  not  expect  the  pastor  to  prepare  a  few  masterpieces, 
and  repeat  them  over  and  over.  Neither  should  the  Sunday- 
school  library  be  confined  to  a  few  classics,  but  should  have 
frequent,  fresh  additions  of  books  that  present  truth  in  winning 
ways.  The  sermon  and  the  book  has  each  its  own  purpose, 
and  when  they  have  produced  the  impressions  intended,  their 
work  for  the  time  is  done.  We  cannot  have  ideal  sermons 
or  books ;  but  we  can  find  a  sufficient  variety  to  keep  before 
young  minds  the  truths  we  wish  to  impress  on  their  lives. 

Important  topics  should  have  due  emphasis  in  the  selection 
of  these  books.  Home  and  school  life,  the  duties  of  citizens 
of  this  earthly  and  of  the  heavenly  kingdom,  should  be 
attractively  pictured ;  the  principles  that  underlie  these  should 
be  illustrated  by  noble  deeds,  and  noble  lives  such  as  people 
have  lived  and  can  live. 

Each  Sunday-school  should  have  its  permanent  committee 
for  selection.  An  ideal  committee  would  be  a  wise  mother,  an 
experienced  teacher,  a  literary  editor,  an  intelligent  boy  and 
girl,  all  Christians,  chosen  for  a  term  of  years.  This  committee 
should  say,  in  their  written  catalogue  for  the  use  of  teachers, 
why  each  book  was  chosen,  and  what  it  is  expected  to  do.  Fifty 
loaded  rifles,  well  aimed,  are  worth  more  than  barrels  of  bullets. 

The  various  committees,  such  as  the  "  Hartford  Ladies'  Com- 
mission/' who  are  competent  for  their  work,  and  the  fruits  of 
whose  labors  are  offered  to  Sunday-schools  without  charge, 
have  done  excellent  service  for  local  committees.  They  can- 
not select  libraries  suited  to  every  Sunday-school ;  but  they 
have  relieved  inexperienced  committees  from  the  examination 
of  a  multitude  of  books  of  little  value.  From  their  selection 
the  choice  for  the  local  Sunday-school  can  easily  be  made. 


THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    LIBRARY  395 

Books  are  cheapest  which  are  selected  for  a  definite  purpose 
rather  than  on  account  of  their  price-mark.  Books  worth 
having  at  all,  ought  to  be  well  bound.  Books  that  go  begging 
for  a  market  can  always  be  had  at  low  rates,  and  where  they 
can  be  mixed  with  better  books,  the  price  of  the  whole  lot  can 
be  reduced.  But  such  bargains,  considered  in  reference  to  the 
object  for  which  they  are  bought,  are  costly.  Denomi- 
national publishing  houses  are  created  for  the  purpose  of  serv- 
ing the  churches.  They  are  under  the  direction  of  trusted. 
Christian  men,  who  oversee  their  business  without  remu- 
neration. Their  aim  is  moral  and  spiritual  rather  than  to 
make  money.  They  make  a  specialty  of  Sunday-school  lit- 
erature. They  are  the  property  of  the  churches  and  Sunday- 
schools,  to  whose  advancement  whatever  profits  they  gain 
are  devoted.  The  churches  should  see  that  these  societies 
are  efficiently  managed,  and  then  should  avail  themselves  of 
their  services. 

III.  Its  Use.  Books  are  good  for  nothing  unless  they  are 
made  to  work.  Good  tools  do  not  execute  good  work  in  care- 
less or  unskilled  hands.  Some  simple  plan  of  cooperation 
between  the  pastor,  superintendent,  librarian,  and  teacher 
can  make  each  book  that  deserves  a  place  in  the  library  earn 
its  living.  Let  the  pastor  give  occasional  short  talks  on  read- 
ing, showing  what  books  will  best  help  readers,  and  how  the 
right  use  of  them  will  lead  into  new  fields  of  thought  and 
action.  Let  the  superintendent  mention  one  good  book  or 
more  each  Sunday,  and  give  a  reason  why  it  is  valuable.  Let 
the  hbrai-ian  have  a  bulletin  for  his  new  books,  and  write  a  brief 
description  under  each  title.  Let  the  teacher  acquaint  him- 
self with  the  books,  and  introduce  his  scholars  to  them,  telling 
them  something  about  their  authors,  characters,  and  aims; 
and  let  him  occasionally  ask  his  scholars  to  give  some  account 
of  their  reading,  and  what  thoughts  it  has  awakened.  Wisely 
selected  and  used,  the  Sunday-school  library  becomes  an 
indispensable  instrument  in  the  church,  and  in  the  community, 
refining  the  tastes,  furnishing  noble  ideas,  correcting  "WTong 
impressions,  informing  with  truth,  winning  readers  to  Christ, 
and  qualifying  them  for  Christian  service,  in  a  time  of  greater 
opportunities  for  noble  li\ing  than  any  other  generation  was 
ever  called  to  enter. 


X 

THE   SUNDAY-SCHOOL  MUSIC 

THE  great  prominence  now  universally  accorded  to  music 
in  the  Sunday-school,  and  its  wonderful  influence  over 
mind  and  heart,  combine  to  make  it  doubly  important  that 
this  subject  should  receive  most  careful  and  thoughtful  atten- 
tion from  all  who  are  responsible  for  the  moral  and  religious 
education  of  the  young.  It  has  too  often  been  left  to  the 
whimsical  tastes  of  children  or  the  childish  caprices  of  adults, 
and  regarded  mainly  as  a  question  of  entertainment  rather 
than  of  a  religious  exercise.  As  a  consequence,  many  collec- 
tions of  Sunday-school  songs  have  teemed  with  meaningless 
rhymes  and  sentimental  ditties,  set  to  music  essentially  weak 
and  frivolous  in  its  character.  Happily  there  has  of  late  been 
quite  a  general  movement  toward  better  things,  but  in  the  vast 
majority  of  schools  there  is  yet  room  for  great  improvement. 

Sometimes  this  much-needed  reform  has  been  undertaken 
by  professional  musicians  alone,  entirely  upon  the  basis  of 
musical  gesthetics,  without  special  regard  to  the  religious  ele- 
ment 5  and  some  of  these,  instead  of  trying  to  lead  the  people 
gradually  to  a  higher  plane,  have  attempted  to  drive  the 
masses  to  the  use  of  that  which,  from  lack  of  musical  culture, 
they  did  not  understand,  and  in  which  they  could,  therefore, 
feel  no  interest.  And  so  Sunday-school  music  has  been  used 
in  a  sort  of  "battledoor  and  shuttlecock'^  game,  between 
stilted  dignity  on  the  one  side,  and  gushing  puerility  on  the 
other,  until  it  is  not  easy  to  persuade  people  that  there  can  be 
any  tenable  intermediate  ground  upon  which  all  might  unite 
in  harmony. 

We  assume  that  the  hymns  and  the  music  should  be  no  less 
pure,  devout,  and  worshipful  in  the  Sunday-school  than  in  the 
preaching  service :  (1.)  Because  the  Sunday-school  is  (or  ought 
to  be)  one  of  the  religious  services  of  the  church,  held  not  only 
for  the  study  of  the  Word  of  God,  but  also  for  his  worship. 
(2.)  Because  it  is  held  on  the  holy  Sabbath,  and  usually  in  the 


THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    MUSIC  397 

house  consecrated  to  tlie  service  of  the  Lord.  (3.)  Because  an 
important  part  of  Sunday-school  work  is  the  education  and 
training  of  its  members  in  the  reverent  use  of  all  means  of 
grace.  (4.)  Because  of  the  power  of  music  either  to  deepen 
religious  impressions  by  an  appeal  to  the  heart  through  the 
emotional  nature,  or  to  dispel  and  efface  them  by  exciting  the 
emotions  in  another  direction.  (5.)  Because  in  the  words  used, 
a  mischievous  distortion  of  the  truth,  an  unwarrantable  fancy 
of  the  imagination,  or  an  insidious  heresy  may  become 
more  easily  and  firmly  fastened  in  the  mind  by  rhymes  and 
music  than  in  any  other  way.  (6.)  Because  this  exercise  in 
the  Sunday-school  ought  to  constitute  a  preparation  for  the 
more  formal  worship  in  the  sanctuary.  (7.)  Because,  by  the 
right  use  of  hymns  and  music,  a  condition  of  mind  and  heart 
may  be  induced  which  will  give  a  devout  character  to  all  the 
other  exercises. 

Now,  in  considering  some  of  the  methods  by  which  the 
desired  result  may  best  be  secured,  we  must  recognize  the  fact 
—  often  lost  to  the  sight  of  reformers  —  that  no  one  plan  can 
possibly  meet  all  needs.  There  are  many  things  to  be  intelli- 
gently considered  in  each  case, —  e.  g.,  the  classes  of  people  with 
whom  we  are  to  deal ;  the  general  degree  of  musical  and  lit- 
erary culture ;  the  character  of  the  material  with  which  we 
must  work ;  the  leadership  which  may  be  available,  and  the 
instrumental  aid  we  may  secure.  These  are  all  to  be  taken 
into  account  in  fixing  upon  a  definite  plan,  though  the  aim 
should  always  be  toward  the  highest  attainable  standard  of 
excellence. 

Fully  to  accomplish  the  true  purpose,  there  should  be,  fii*st 
of  all,  a  clear  and  generally  accepted  understanding  that  these 
exercises  in  the  Sunday-school  shall  be  recognized  as  coming 
legitimately  under  the  head  of  sacred  music.  However  joyous 
or  even  sprightly  it  may  be,  this  bound  must  not  be  passed. 

For  this  reason  the  character  of  the  book  to  be  used  is  of 
vital  importance.  The  hymns  should  be  carefully  examined 
by  the  pastor  or  other  competent  person,  to  make  sure  that 
no  "  crooked  theology  "  lurks  therein  to  do  mischief,  and  also 
to  see  that  they  are  generally  of  sufficient  lyrical  merit  to  be 
free  from  a  tendency  to  vitiate  the  taste.     There  are  multi- 


398  THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

tudes  of  pleasantly  jingling  effusions  which  are  flippantly 
irreverent  in  expression,  especially  in  the  use  of  the  titles 
applied  to  the  Second  Person  of  the  Holy  Trinity.  Yet  this 
may  be  avoided  without  going  entirely  to  the  opposite  extreme. 

It  is  well  to  make  frequent  use  of  such  of  the  standard 
hymns  of  the  church  as  may  be  appropriate,  and  it  is  a  great 
mistake  to  suppose  that  even  the  children  cannot  be  interested 
in  them  if  they  are  not  properly  introduced.  For  example, 
that  grandly  reverent  hymn,  ^^  Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  Lord  God 
Almighty,"  can  be  understood  by  all,  and  should  be  found  in 
every  collection. 

Much  that  has  been  said  concerning  the  hymns  applies  with 
equal  force  to  the  music  in  which  they  are  to  be  snng,  which 
should  be  not  only  melodious  but  sufficiently  reverent  in  style 
to  be  in  keeping  with  the  words  used.  It  should  earnestly 
appeal  to  the  emotional  nature,  and  may  be,  if  the  sentiment 
requires  it,  bright  and  cheerful  without  seeming  frivolous. 
Instrumental  aid  is  weU-nigh  an  absolute  necessity,  and  should 
be  good  of  its  kind.  A  cheap,  wheezy  organ  or  other  reed 
instrument  producing  a  bad  quality  of  tone  is  harmful,  in  that 
it  blunts  the  finer  sensibilities,  accustoming  the  ear  to  that 
which  is  uncouth,  and  preventing  the  formation  of  a  refined 
taste.  As  to  the  kind  of  instrument  to  be  used,  much  depends 
upon  circumstances.  A  good  piano,  properly  played,  gives  a 
stronger  leading  on  account  of  the  percussion  touch.  But 
j)ianos  in  church  lecture-rooms  are  weekly  exposed  to  extreme 
changes  in  temperature,  and  are  very  rarely  kept  in  tune,  so 
that  quite  generally  a  thoroughly  good  reed-organ  is  better. 
But  the  miserable  things  which  are  widely  advertised  to  be 
sold  at  a  marvelous  sacrifice  much  below  the  wholesale  rates 
of  a  decent  article,  and  in  which  there  is  an  attempt  to  make 
up  the  musical  deficiency  by  immensity  of  case  and  tawdry 
(n-naments,  are  always  a  delusion  and  a  snare,  '^  and  whosoever 
is  deceived  thereby  is  not  wise." 

It  is  most  economical  to  purchase  an  instrument  of  estab- 
lished repute,  at  a  fair  price,  from  a  reliable  dealer  who  will 
be  responsible  for  its  excellence.  If  a  reed-organ,  it  should 
have  a  strong  tone,  a  ^'  manual  sub-bass "  and  "  harmonic  " 
or  "  octave  coupler,"  because  most  of  the  school  will  sing  the 


THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    MUSIC  399 

melody,  and  the  accompanying  harmony  must  be  mainly  sup- 
plied ^^y  the  instrument  in  proportionate  strength,  thus  bind- 
ing all  together  and  intensifying  the  effect. 

The  player  should  know  just  how  to  do  this  in  the  best 
manner  which  the  resources  of  the  instrument  will  permit. 
The  feeble,  sickly,  sentimental  style  adopted  by  many  is  wholly 
inefficient  and  painfully  ridiculous. 

The  leader  should  be  a  Christian,  if  one  is  available  who  has 
a  fair  degree  of  musical  fitness  for  the  work.  Certainly  no 
one  should  hold  that  position  who  has  not  a  good  moral  char- 
acter and  at  least  some  sympathy  with  religious  work  and 
worship.  It  is,  of  course,  eminently  desirable  that  the  leader 
have  some  theoretical  and  practical  knowledge  of  music,  a 
correct  taste,  a  sense  of  the  fitness  of  things,  a  good  leading 
voice,  and  a  personal  magnetism  which  will  enable  one  to  hold 
a  multitude  under  control  without  much  demonstration  by 
bodily  action,  depending  much  upon  heart-power.  The  object 
should  be,  not  to  display  self  or  a  fine  voice,  but  to  make  the 
service  as  impressive  as  possible. 

As  a  general  rule,  the  entire  school  should  be  required  to 
sing,  though  now  and  then  there  wiU  be  found  good  reasons 
for  making  exceptions.  An  occasional  solo  or  semi-chorus  is 
very  effective,  if  well  done,  especially  if  the  full  chorus  respond 
in  a  '^  refrain,"  or  in  alternate  stanzas  or  parts  thereof.  But 
we  do  not  approve  the  plan  of  assigning  a  large  part  of  the 
service  to  a  ^'  Sunday-school  choir,"  for  it  tends  to  foster  more 
or  less  of  vanity  among  those  who  are  thus  selected,  and  to 
beget  indifference  on  the  part  of  those  not  thus  recognized. 

It  adds  greatly  to  the  interest  if  the  singing  is  fi-equently 
made  responsive  between  some  class  or  section  and  the  entire 
school. 

The  introduction  of  chanting  wiU  also  be  found  very  profit- 
able, particularly  if  made  "  antiphonalj"  or  responsive. 

An  old  maxim,  slightly  varied,  is  a  good  motto  to  be  kept 
before  all  who  have  to  do  with  sacred  song :  "  Whatever  is 
worth  singing  at  all  is  worth  singing  well."  Let  pains  be 
taken  to  bring  out  the  different  parts,  alto,  tenor,  and  bass. 
"Wlien  there  can  be  an  occasional  week-day  hour  of  training 
(which  is  very  desirable),  there  will  be  no  need,  with  a  com- 


400  THE    SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

petent  leader,  of  consuming  the  time  allotted  to  Sabbath  exer- 
cises in  "  practicing''  new  pieces. 

We  have  thus  endeavored  briefly  to  present  the  more  salient 
points  of  the  subject,  leaving  much  unsaid  which  deserves 
attention.  With  a  clear  understanding  in  every  mind  of  the 
religious  spirit  which  ought  to  characterize  all  the  exercises 
of  public  worship,  a  general  and  cordial  recognition  of  its 
importance,  and  an  earnest  participation  by  all,  there  need  be 
no  lack  of  uplifting  power  and  spiritual  profit  in  this  delight- 
ful portion  of  "  the  service  of  song  in  the  house  of  the  Lord." 


IX 
WORSHIP 


THE  WORSHIP  OF  THE  LORD'S  HOUSE 

HE  public  religious  services  of  the  early  He- 
brews were  various  forms  of  worship.  Their 
sacrifices  and  their  offerings,  as  well  as  their 
prayers  and  their  songs,  were  all  of  the 
nature  of  worship.  Before  the  captivity 
the  exercises  connected  with  the  tabernacle 
or  the  temple  included  nothing  in  the  way 
of  preaching.  Even  the  reading  of  the  law  seems  to  have 
formed  no  part  of  public  worship  at  the  beginning;  in  the 
days  of  Jehoshaphat  we  find  that  the  priests  took  the  law  with 
them  in  their  journeys  through  the  land  and  read  it,  and 
explained  it  to  the  people;  and  after  the  time  of  Ezra  the 
public  reading  and  exposition  of  the  Pentateuch  was  constantly 
practiced;  so  that  when  the  synagogues  arose,  this  didactic 
feature  was  firmly  ingrafted  upon  the  Jewish  ritual. 

But  the  essential  character  of  the  Israelitish  cult  was  wor- 
ship rather  than  instruction  ;  the  teaching,  in  the  earlier  days, 
was  chiefly  done  at  home ;  the  people  met  at  the  tabernacle 
and  the  temple  to  worship  God.  The  acts  of  adoration,  of 
thanksgiving,  of  confession,  of  supplication,  of  intercession, 
which  constitute  worship,  were  performed  by  them,  unitedly, 
before  their  altars ;  the  sprinkled  blood,  the  smoking  sacrifice, 
the  rising  incense,  were  the  symbols  by  which  their  faith  was 
assisted,  and  with  which  were  mingled  holy  psalm  and  solemn 
prayer. 

26  401 


402  WORSHIP 

In  the  minds  of  a  crude  and  semi-civilized  people  this  wor- 
ship would,  no  doubt,  often  take  on  grotesque  forms  and 
repulsive  rites  :  there  would  be  much  of  abjectness  and  terror 
in  its  expressions.  But  the  misdirection  of  the  impulse  does 
not  vitiate  the  impulse ;  the  instinct  which  bids  men  adore 
and  pray  is  part  of  their  nature,  the  noblest  part;  and  the 
fact  that  this  instinct  was  so  healthily  developed  among  the 
Hebrews  will  go  far  to  account  for  the  marvelous  vigor  which 
they  have  always  exhibited  as  a  people.  A  sincere  worship  is 
the  condition  of  all  highest  life. 

The  religious  life  of  oui*  non-liturgical  Protestant  churches 
is  somewhat  lacking  in  this  element.  Our  church  services  do 
not  put  upon  worship  the  emphasis  that  was  placed  upon  it 
by  the  Hebrews,  nor  by  the  early  Christians ;  they  do  not 
grant  it  the  place  that  properly  belongs  to  it.  We  do  worship 
in  our  Christian  assemblies,  but  not  much ;  the  central  pur- 
pose of  our  assembling  is  something  else  besides  worship.  At 
best  it  is  instruction ;  at  worst  it  is  amusement :  it  is  hardly 
ever  chiefly,  or  even  largely,  worship.  Is  it  not  so  ?  Let  every 
habitual  attendant  upon  such  services  examine  himself.  In 
what  does  your  interest  center,  if  you  have  any  interest  in  the 
public  services  of  religion  1  Is  it  not  in  the  sermon,  or  the 
musical  performance  by  the  choir?  The  sermon,  perhaps, 
instructs  you,  possibly  rouses  and  stimulates  you ;  the  singing 
pleases  you;  but  in  all  this  you  are  passive  and  receptive; 
there  is  in  this  no  element  of  worship.  Perhaps  you  listen  to 
the  prayer,  perhaps  you  join  in  it ;  perhaps  you  sing  the  con- 
gregational hymns,  and  enjoy  the  singing,  and  are  moved  and 
lifted  by  it.  This  is  worship,  indeed ;  and  there  are  devout 
souls  in  all  our  congregations  who  take  part  in  it,  and  find  in 
it  solace  and  strength.  Our  public  services  are  not  destitute 
of  worship ;  there  are  moments  in  which  many  of  us  lift  our 
hearts  to  God  in  song  and  prayer.  There  are  reverent  forms 
of  worship,  too ;  forms  which  a  sincere  devotion  often  fills 
with  life.  What  I  am  saying  is,  that  in  most  of  our  non- 
liturgical  churches  there  is  less  opportunity  for  this  than  there 
ought  to  be,  and  less  desire  for  it ;  that  while  we  give  it  some 
place  in  our  services,  we  do  not  give  it  the  place  that  belongs  to 
it ;  that  it  is  with  most  of  us  an  inferior  and  uninteresting  part 


THE    WORSHIP    OF    THE    LORD'S    HOUSE         403 

of  the  service ;  and  with  many  of  us  a  perfunctory  and  tasteless 
formality,  to  be  gotten  through  with  as  speedily  as  may  be. 

All  the  common  phrases  with  which  the  most  religious 
among  us  often  describe  our  public  services  imply  that  wor- 
ship is  no  integral  part  of  them.  The  people  in  the  church  on 
the  Lord's  day  are  often  called  an  "  audience."  "  How  large 
was  your  audience ?  "  "I  saw  him  in  the  audience."  "  The  / 
audience  slowly  dispersed  after  the  benediction."  What  is 
an  audience?  It  is  a  number  of  persons  gathered  to  listen, 
to  be  pleased  or  instructed.  The  people  who  attend  a  con- 
cert or  a  lecture  are  properly  called  an  audience;  but  the 
people  who  are  found  at  chui-ch  on  a  Sunday  morning  ought 
to  be  something  more.  They  are  not  there  simply  to  listen  ; 
they  are  there  to  worship  also.  And  the  word  which  fixes 
attention  upon  the  part  of  the  service  in  which  the  congre- 
gation is  passive  and  ignores  the  rest  of  it  —  which  exalts  the 
intellectual  at  the  expense  of  the  devotional  element — is  a  very 
unfortunate  word.  CaU  the  people  gathered  in  the  church  a 
congregation ;  never  call  them  an  audience.  Congregation 
means  simply  an  assemblage  of  people ;  it  does  not  prejudge 
the  matter  by  assuming  that  they  come  together  to  listen ;  it 
leaves  room  for  the  idea  of  worship.  The  same  notion  finds 
utterance  in  other  phrases.  '^I  am  going  some  Sunday  to 
heai*  your  minister,  or  to  hear  your  choir ; ''  —  as  if  the  hear- 
ing were  the  only  thing  for  which  people  visit  the  house  of 
God.  There  are  many  expressions  of  the  same  natui'e,  in 
which  it  is  implied  that  the  minister  or  the  choir  does  every- 
thing that  is  done  in  the  house  of  God ;  that  the  people  are 
simply  there  to  look  on  and  to  listen, — to  see  how  it  is  done ; 
to  censure  or  to  praise  the  performance ;  to  be  taught,  perhaps ; 
certainly  to  be  entertained.  The  idea  that  the  people  in  the 
pews  are  active  participants  in  these  services;  that  their 
profiting  depends  on  themselves ;  that  in  a  great  and  essential 
part  of  the  service  the  minister  and  the  choir  are  only  the 
leaders,  and  that  their  ministrations  are  vain  unless  the  people 
join  with  them  and  follow  them,  entering  into  the  songs  and 
the  prayers  unitedly  and  heartily  and  devoutly, —  this  idea  has 
as  yet  gained  but  a  feeble  hold  of  the  minds  of  the  people  in 
many  of  our  churches. 


404  WORSHIP 

It  is  this  misconception  that  gives  color  to  the  excuses  made 
for  the  absence  of  children  from  the  services  of  the  chm-ch. 
"  They  cannot  understand  the  sermon,"  it  is  said.  This  plead- 
ing has  much  less  weight  than  is  sometimes  granted  to  it. 
Children  —  even  young  children  —  are  certainly  able  to  under- 
stand a  large  part  of  the  preaching  that  is  heard  in  our 
churches.  The  force  of  some  of  the  reasoning  they  would  not 
comprehend,  of  course ;  but  there  are  few  sermons  preached 
nowadays  which  do  noc  contain  a  great  deal  of  truth  that  is 
intelligible  to  young  children.  I  know  that  I  have  been  able 
to  understand  a  large  part  of  what  the  preacher  said,  ever 
since  I  was  seven  or  eight  years  old ;  and  I  do  not  believe  that 
the  sermons  preached  in  my  boyhood  were  any  more  intel- 
ligible than  those  which  are  preached  in  our  churches  to-day, 
nor  that  the  average  boy  of  the  modern  congregation  is  duller- 
witted  or  more  restless  now  than  I  was  then.  This  talk  about 
the  incapacity  of  cliildren  to  take  in  the  teaching  of  the  church 
is  not  seldom  a  subterfuge.  Many  of  the  children  who  are  left 
at  home  for  this  reason  think  sharply  enough  about  religious 
subjects  ;  you  hear  their  fathers  and  mothers  often  reporting 
the  questions  they  ask  and  the  comments  they  make, —  ques- 
tions and  comments  which  show  plainly  enough  that  they  are 
able  to  receive  a  great  deal  more  instruction  of  this  sort  than 
they  ever  get.  But  putting  aside  this  excuse  altogether, — 
admitting  its  validity,  for  the  sake  of  the  argument, —  is  there 
not  still  good  reason  why  the  children  should  come  to  churcli  1 
There  would  be,  surely,  if  we  regarded  the  church  primarily 
as  a  place  of  worship  ;  for,  if  the  children  cannot  understand 
the  sermon,  they  are  surely  old  enough  to  worship  God ;  to 
bow  reverently  in  his  presence;  to  pray  to  him ;  to  sing  hymns 
of  praise  to  him.  Is  it  not  of  some  importance  that  our  chil- 
dren should  be  taught  and  trained  to  worship  ?  When  are 
they  to  receive  this  training  ?  Is  there  much  danger  of  their 
beginning  too  early "?  Is  there  not  a  good  deal  of  danger  that 
they  will  not  begin  until  it  is  too  late  ?  The  children  of  many 
of  our  Christian  families  are  growing  up  with  fixed  habits  of 
church  neglect,  habits  that  they  are  not  at  all  likely  to  outgrow 
when  they  are  older.  And  I  am  persuaded  that  part  of  this 
neglect,  at  least,  arises  from  the  vicious  notion  that  the  church 


THE    WORSHIP    OF    THE    LORD'S    HOUSE         405 

is  merely  a  preaching-place  for  the  minister  and  a  concert- 
room  for  the  choir ;  from  a  f ailnre  to  recognize  woi'ship  as  an 
integral  part  of  our  Sunday  services.  To  counteract  this  evil 
tendency  it  is  essential,  in  the  first  place,  that  we  have  a  place 
of  worship;  that  we  learn  to  think  of  it  and  speak  of  it  as 
such ;  that  we  emphasize  this  feature  of  our  Sunday  services ; 
that  we  so  order  these  services  that  this  feature  of  them  shall 
be  made  more  central  and  more  prominent  than  it  now  is. 

The  traditional  ritual  of  our  Puritan  churches  was  exceed- 
ingly meager  in  tliis  respect.  Puritanism  was  a  reaction  from 
the  overgrown  ritualism  of  the  Middle  Ages  ;  and  like  all  re- 
actions, was,  of  course,  extravagant  in  its  contradictions  and 
denials.  In  its  eagerness  to  pluck  from  the  church  the  gauds 
and  gewgaws  with  which  formalism  liad  hidden  her  spirit- 
ual grace,  it  stripped  her  even  of  that  which  was  seemly  and 
becoming.  From  that  reaction  we  are  beginning  to  return. 
There  is  a  little  danger  in  some  quarters  that  our  revolt  from 
Puritanism  will  be  excessive  ;  and  there  is  need  that  we  should 
keep  our  heads  cool  and  advance  in  this  direction  cautiously. 
Nevertheless,  we  may  well  advance ;  and  the  proposition  of 
Professor  Hopkins  at  the  Hartford  meeting  of  the  Congress 
of  Churches,  that  we  must  learn  "  to  emphasize  the  devotional 
part  of  the  service,  [and]  to  interest  the  people  in  it  by  making 
them  active  sharers  in  it  and  not  a  mere  dumb  audience,"  most 
clearly  expresses  one  of  the  evident  needs  of  many  of  our 
churches. 

As  a  matter  of  history,  this  change  will  be  only  a  return  to 
an  earlier  usage.  The  Roman  Catholic  church,  indeed,  gives 
the  people  almost  no  part  at  all  in  the  worship ;  it  is  all  trans- 
acted for  them  by  the  priest  and  the  choir.  In  this  respect  the 
Roman  Catholics  and  the  old  Puritans  are  very  much  alike. 
They  are  unlike  in  the  number  of  their  forms  and  rites  and 
ceremonies  ;  they  are  quite  agreed  in  making  the  people  merely 
spectators  and  auditors.  The  earlier  Protestants  rebelled 
against  this.  Luther  and  Calvin  both  prepared  forms  of  wor- 
ship in  which  the  people  should  take  part.  "  There  was,"  says 
Professor  Hopkins,  '^  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Creed,  always 
to  be  recited  aloud  by  the  people.  There  was  the  general  con- 
fession which  every  one  joined  in  repeating,  making  it  his  own 


406  WORSHIP 

personal  confession  of  sin.  There  was  the  reading  of  the 
Decalogue,  to  which  the  people  responded,  '  Lord  have  mercy 
on  us  and  incline  our  hearts  to  keep  his  law.'  There  was  the 
responsive  reading  of  the  Psalter,  an  exercise  to  which  it  might 
seem  that  the  most  exaggerated  Puritanism  could  make  no 
objection.  All  these  features  appear  in  the  Strassburg  Liturgy 
of  John  Calvin,  in  the  Saxon  Liturgy,  di*awn  by  Luther,  in 
the  Liturgy  of  the  Palatinate  prepared  by  Melancthon,  and  in 
all  the  other  forms  of  prayer  that  were  the  product  of  the 
Reformation  period." 

That  this  usage  of  the  first  Protestants  was  like  the  usage  of 
the  first  Christians  is  almost  certain.  Paul  bids  the  Ephesians 
"  to  speak  one  to  another  in  psalms  and  hymns  and  si3iritual 
songs,"  and  again  in  Colossians,  "  to  teach  and  admonish  one 
another  in  psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs.''  That  this 
is  an  allusion  to  responsive  worship  seems  clear  also  from  some 
of  the  historical  notices  of  the  worship  of  the  early  Christians. 
It  is  certain  that  neither  the  worship  of  the  first  Protestants 
nor  that  of  the  first  Christians  was  in  any  respect  like  unto 
that  meager,  barren,  one-man-power  ritual  introduced  by 
our  Puritan  ancestors.  Upon  that,  indeed,  we  have  already 
made  a  good  many  innovations.  Our  ways  are  altogether 
unlike  their  ways,  and  in  many  respects  the  changes  are 
improvements.  The  early  Puritans  forbade  ministers  to  sol- 
emnize marriages ;  they  would  have  no  religious  form  in  con- 
nection with  these  5  the  marriage  was  a  secular  contract, 
witnessed  by  the  magistrate.  Neither  would  they  allow  any 
prayers  to  be  made  at  funerals ;  they  feared  that  such  devo- 
tions would  be  interpreted  as  prayers  for  the  dead ;  and  it 
was  a  long  time  before  they  would  permit  the  reading  of  the 
Bible  at  all  by  the  minister  in  the  church  on  Sunday.  There 
was  quite  as  strong  an  opposition  to  the  introduction  of  Bibles 
into  the  Puritan  churches  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century  as  there  was  to  the  introduction  of  stoves  a  little  later. 
Both  innovations  seemed  to  some  of  our  fathers  extremely 
dangerous.  "  The  reading  of  the  Bible  in  church ! "  they 
exclaimed.  "  Heaven  forbid  !  Is  not  this  the  custom  of  the 
Episcopalians "?  Is  not  this  a  relic  of  Popery  ?  No,  we  wiU 
have  none  of  it."    They  called  it  a  new  departure,  or  words 


THE    WORSHIP    OF    THE    LORD'S    HOUSE         407 

to  that  effect ;  the  people  who  advocated  it  were  regarded  as 
loose  and  heretical  in  their  tendencies.  I  dare  say  they  stig- 
matized the  innovation  as  a  grievous  instance  of  letting  down 
the  bars.  One  of  the  old  Puritan  divines,  the  Rev.  Stephen 
Williams,  of  Longmeadow,  records  in  his  diary  the  first  read- 
ing of  the  Scriptures  in  his  congregation,  March  30,  1755. 
But  it  would  seem  that  there  was  so  much  opposition  to  the 
measure  that  it  was  discontinued  for  a  season.  Apparently 
the  people  would  not  listen  ;  they  manifested  their  displeasure 
by  inattention  and  levity.  It  was  six  years  before  the  good 
pastor  was  able  to  resume  it.  April  12,  1761,  he  writes  in  his 
diary,  '^  I  have  been  preaching  about  public  reading  of  the 
Scriptures.  I  hope  people  may  be  convinced  of  the  duty,  and 
that  we  may  attend  it  with  seriousness  and  reverence.'^  The 
next  Sunday  he  opens  his  Bible  once  more,  and  from  this  time 
onward,  apparently,  the  innovation  is  allowed  without  serious 
protest.  It  seems  passing  strange  that  the  Puritans  should 
have  feared  that  the  purity  of  the  faith  would  suffer  by  hav- 
ing the  Bible  read  publicly  in  church.  It  shows  us  how  easy 
it  is  for  good  men  to  take  narrow  and  fanatical  views  of 
religious  questions.  And  it  is  altogether  plain  that  the  Puri- 
tan pattern  of  public  worship  is  not  by  any  means  to  be 
servilely  followed  by  us,  in  our  assemblies.  It  must  be  that 
our  own  judgment  is  a  safer  guide  than  their  practice,  good 
and  faithful  men  though  they  surely  were. 

What,  then,  can  be  done  to  improve  the  service  of  our  non- 
liturgical  churches  on  the  devotional  side?  We  need  not 
resort  to  any  radical  changes.  New  forms  or  ceremonies  can- 
not be  wisely  thrust  into  a  congregation  of  worshipers ;  the 
way  must  be  prepared  for  them,  and  the  people  must  grow 
into  them.  This  much,  at  least,  is  practicable:  we  can 
strengthen  the  things  that  remain  which  are  of  the  nature  of 
worship.  The  congregational  hymns,  including  the  Doxology, 
permit  the  whole  congregation  to  engage  unitedly  in  an  act 
of  worship ;  we  can  recognize  this  as  our  privilege  and  can  join 
heartily  in  the  singing,  entering  as  fully  as  we  can  into  the 
spirit  of  the  hymn,  and  making  its  voices  of  prayer  or  praise 
the  utterance  of  our  own  feeling  —  worshiping  in  the  use  of 
it.     In  the  prayers  of  the  service  we  can  also  unite,  taking  a 


408  WORSHIP 

reverent  posture  of  body  and  mind,  and  seeking  to  magnify 
this  part  of  the  service, —  to  make  it  more  real  and  profitable 
to  ourselves. 

In  most  of  our  congregations  we  might  usefully  introduce 
several  other  acts  of  congregational  worship  —  the  responsive 
reading  of  a  psalm  or  some  other  portion  of  Scripture,  and 
the  repetition  together  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  of  the  Apostles' 
Creed.  There  will  seem  to  be  very  little  novelty  in  this; 
most  congregations  are  quite  prepared  by  responsive  reading 
in  the  Sunday-school,  and  by  the  congregational  use  of  the 
Lord's  Prayer  in  the  same  place  to  join  in  such  exercises. 
The  Gloria  Fatri,  at  the  end  of  the  responsive  reading,  will 
also  be  sung  with  more  and  more  heartiness.  After  a  little 
training  of  this  sort  it  would  be  possible  to  introduce  a  con- 
gregational chant,  one  of  the  simpler  ones,  into  some  part  of 
the  service.  It  is  not  advisable  to  lengthen  the  service,  but 
we  may  introduce  into  it  a  little  more  variety  and  give  the 
people  a  little  more  chance  to  participate  in  it. 

One  object  of  making  these  changes  is  to  make  the  service 
more  attractive  to  the  children.  The  Episcopal  churches  have 
a  great  advantage  over  the  non-liturgical  churches  in  this; 
the  more  varied  and  rapidly  changing  character  of  the  ritual 
keeps  the  attention  and  the  interest  of  the  young  people,  and 
there  are  so  many  parts  of  the  service  in  which  they  can  join, 
that  they  find  it,  although  much  longer  than  ours,  less  tedious 
and  irksome. 

The  main  result  of  making  the  change  will  be  to  empha- 
size the  value  of  worship,  to  concentrate  the  attention  of  the 
congregation  upon  this  feature  of  the  service ;  to  bring  before 
the  minds  of  all  with  new  clearness  the  fact  that  the  church  is 
not  merely  a  preaching-place  or  a  concert-room,  but  a  sanct- 
uary where  God  meets  his  people  to  hold  communion  with 
them;  to  listen  to  their  praises  and  their  prayers,  to  forgive 
their  sins,  to  comfort  their  sorrows,  to  cheer  their  loneliness, 
to  shed  abroad  in  their  hearts  his  peace,  and  to  clothe  them 
with  his  miglit  for  the  conflicts  before  them.  Most  true  it  is 
that  no  rites  that  men  can  devise  can  bring  to  us  these  gifts  of 
his.  He  is  a  Spirit,  and  they  that  worship  him  must  worship 
him  in  spirit  and  in  truth.     But  it  is  possible  by  a  different 


THE    WORSHIP    OF    THE    LORD'S    HOUSE         409 

ordering  of  our  service  to  keep  before  ourselves  the  great 
truth  of  which  we  are  so  prone  to  lose  sight,  that  our  main 
business  in  the  Lord's  house  is  to  worship  him,  to  commune 
with  him  ;  that  the  chief  need  which  we  there  seek  to  supply 
is  not  the  need  of  diversion  nor  the  need  of  instruction,  but 
the  need  of  inspiration. 


II 

HOW  MANY  SERVICES? 

A  WISE  man  has  said^  ''  The  thing  that  hath  been,  it  is 
that  which  shall  bej  and  that  which  is  done  is  that 
which  shall  be  done ;  and  there  is  no  new  thing  nnder  the 
sun."  But  however  this  may  have  been  when  Solomon  wrote, 
there  are  manifestly  things  in  these  days  never  dreamed  of  by 
our  ancestors.  And  we  must  admit  that  some  of  the  '^  new 
things "  are  fraught  wdth  unmistakable  benefits  to  mankind, 
though  there  may  be  disadvantages  connected  with  them,  and 
even  dangers  which  require  to  be  guarded  against.  Our  only 
reasonable  course  is  candidly  to  look  on  all  sides  of  every 
such  proposed  change,  before  pronouncing  a  judgment  for  or 
against  it. 

The  question  of  a  change  in  the  Sunday  services  hinges 
mainly  on  the  question  whether  the  minister  shaU  preach  twice 
on  the  Sabbath  or  but  once. 

This  point  has  been  a  good  deal  agitated  at  the  present  day. 
It  is  not  strange  that  the  time-honored  usage  of  two  preach- 
ing services  should  have  acquired  such  a  sacredness  with  many, 
that  the  very  thought  of  abandoning  one  of  them  or  even 
changing  the  character  or  the  time  of  the  second  service 
seems  almost  hke  sacrilege,  and  that  some  of  the  very 
best  people,  and  of  the  wisest  also,  most  emphatically  protest 
against  the  innovation.  They  feel  that  the  movement  in  this 
direction  tends  to  destroy  the  foundations ;  that  it  is  opening 
the  door  for  a  stiU  wider  desecration  of  the  Sabbath  than  now 
prevails,  and  that,  on  every  account,  the  curtailing  of  an  in- 
strumentality so  signally  marked  with  the  favor  of  heaven 
as  has  been  the  preaching  of  the  Word,  is  earnestly  to  be 
deprecated. 

Now,  if  two  Sunday  sermons  are  of  divine  ordination,  there 
is  ample  reason  for  this  alarm.  But  is  there  anything  in  our 
Guide  Book  which  intimates  this  ?    That  preaching  is  one  of 

410 


HOW   MANY    SERVICES  411 

the  chief  human  agencies  for  redeeming  the  race,  is  very  plain, 
and  that  church-going  is  consequently  a  sacred  duty  is  equally 
plain.  But  the  number  of  services  would  seem  a  matter 
to  be  decided  partly  by  latitudes  and  longitudes,  and  partly 
by  other  cii'cumstances.  Shall  Christians  in  the  temperate 
regions  insist  that  Christians  in  the  torrid  shall  have  two 
sermons  delivered  in  the  churches  every  Sabbath,  because 
they  find  such  an  arrangement  convenient  and  profitable? 
Or,  on  the  other  hand,  shall  torrid  Christians  claim  that  our 
practice  ought  to  conform  to  theirs  ?  Is  not  this  rather  one 
of  those  cases  in  which  the  apostle  would  say,  "Let  every 
man  be  fully  persuaded  in  his  own  mind  "  ? 

Those  who  object  to  a  change  refer  us  to  the  good  old  times 
when  the  clergyman  delivered  weekly  two  sermons,  an  hour 
or  more  long,  with  comfort  to  himself  and  edification  to  his 
people.  But  in  any  such  comparison  between  the  former  and 
latter  days,  several  things  are  to  be  taken  into  the  account. 
Not  only  were  the  clerical  duties  of  that  earlier  time  far  less 
multifarious  and  pressing,  but  it  did  not  hegin  to  be  as  difficult 
to  meet  the  wants  of  hearers.  As  the  clergy  were  then  the 
great  depositaries  of  relig-ious  information,  they  could  hardly 
fail  to  secui'e  general  attention.  And  were  controversies  for 
the  maintenance  of  truth  deemed  necessary,  the  minister  was 
the  man  and  the  pulpit  the  place  for  them. 

There  were  no  anniversaries  of  benevolent  societies,  with 
theh'  picked  brilliant  orators  for  the  platform ;  no  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associations ;  no  lyceum  bureaus ;  no  literary, 
historic,  and  scientific  courses  for  the  people.  The  minister 
was  their  weekly  journal,  their  "  Missionary  Herald,"  then'  fuU 
quarterly,  and  their  religious  encyclopedia. 

Church-going  was  the  great,  if  not  tlie  only,  weekly  enter- 
tainment of  the  community.  They  looked  to  it  not  simply  for 
the  quickening  of  their  hearts,  but  for  the  whetting  of  their 
intellects.  They  took  home  the  dry,  knotty  points  discussed 
in  the  pulpit  as  choice  nuts  to  be  cracked,  eaten,  and  digested, 
or  otherwise,  evening  after  evening,  by  their  fireside.  No 
wonder  that  men  and  women  went  up  to  the  house  of  the 
Lord  in  the  face  of  untold  difficulties.  What  could  they  have 
done  without  the  two  Sabbath  services  ? 


412  WORSHIP 

The  children,  too,  little  as  they  could  understand,  gladly 
accompanied  theu^  elders  to  the  breezy  old  meeting-house. 
It  was  also  their  weekly  entertainment.  And  in  spite  of  the 
constable's  rigorous  watch  that  summarily  interrupted  all 
their  attempts  at  napping,  and  cut  short  the  smallest  outbreak 
of  childish  fun  or  mischief,  they  counted  it  a  punishment  to 
be  left  at  home.  Knowing  what  the  clergyman  was  to  his 
flock  in  those  times,  that  he  was,  indeed,  their  very  Alpha 
and  Omega,  we  hardly  wonder  at  their  rapt  attention  to  the 
words  that  fell  from  his  lips,  and  at  their  uncovered  heads  and 
their  hushed  tones  in  his  presence. 

But  whether  for  better  or  for  worse,  everything  is  changed. 
In  this  period,  teeming  with  religious  publications,  and  with 
dailies,  and  weeklies,  and  bimonthlies,  and  monthlies,  and 
quarterlies ;  when  the  press  with  its  myriad  tongues  preaches 
every  day ;  in  this  telegraphic  and  telephonic  age,  when  the  very- 
air  is  full  of  lightning  communications,  and  sermons  fly  on 
the  wings  of  the  wind,  how  different  is  the  minister's  work  ! 
People  nowadays  will  not  listen  to  long,  learned  discourses 
such  as  their  fathers  and  grandfathers  delighted  in.  Dwelling 
largely  on  theological  dogmas  is  the  surest  way  to  empty  the 
church. 

The  present  is  an  era  of  almost  preternatural  activity.  Since 
the  world  began,  there  has  never  been  an  epoch  when  the 
Sabbath  was  a  boon  more  needed  by  mankind, —  the  Sabbath, 
in  its  original  idea,  as  a  day,  not  of  religious  dissipation,  such 
as  some  make  it,  nor  of  laziness,  or  seK-indulgence,  or  amuse- 
ment, such  as  others  make  it,  but  a  day  of  rest  in  the  true  Sab- 
bath sense.  What  we  need  is  to  have  the  swift  wheels  stopped, 
the  buzz  of  machinery  hushed ;  to  be  lifted  above  aU  the  rush 
and  tumult  to  a  higher  plane ;  to  bathe  our  souls  in  purer  air ; 
to  be  ^/italized  and  spiritualized. 

Now,  if  the  minister  would  meet  such  far-reaching  wants, 
his  sermons  should  not  be  made  to  order  like  a  piece  of 
mechanism,  but  should  grow,  like  a  thing  of  life.  It  must  be 
remembered,  however,  that  growth  takes  time.  If  he  would 
give  his  flock  heavenly  manna,  he  must  feed  on  it  himself; 
his  whole  being  must  be  permeated  with  divine  truth.  This 
truth  should  make  the  web  of  his  sermons,  with  a  warp  woven 


HOW   MANY    SERVICES  413 

out  of  the  experiences  of  his  people  as  he  gathers  them  in  daily 
intercourse,  the  whole  being  touched  and  deepened  by  his  own 
personal  life. 

We  may  reason  as  we  please  about  the  duty  of  sitting  pa- 
tiently twice  every  Sunday  through  a  long-winded  and  life- 
less sermon,  but  this  is  reasoning  without  book.  We  have  got 
to  take  men  as  they  are.  It  is  one  of  the  greatest  questions 
of  the  day  —  a  question  that  is  agitating  our  secular  papers 
and  our  literary  magazines  as  weU  as  our  religious  journals, — 
the  question  how  to  fill  our  churches,  how  to  arrest  the  ever- 
increasing  tendency  with  grown  people  and  children  to  stay 
away  from  the  sanctuary.  There  are,  without  doubt,  many 
causes  conspiring  to  this  result,  but  may  not  one  of  them  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  they  do  not  get  what  they  want,  what 
they  ought  to  have  ?  This  growing  propensity  to  break  away 
from  public  worship  might  possibly  be  arrested,  in  some 
cases,  at  least,  by  lessening  the  quantity  of  the  services  and 
improving  the  quality.  To  hold  his  congregation,  the  minister 
must  put  his  very  best  efforts  into  his  sermons, —  not  to  pro- 
duce fine  essays,  but  to  give  them  food,  to  meet  their  needs, 
to  quicken  and  strengthen  and  elevate  them. 

A  few  years  since,  an  eminent  Unitarian  writer  af&rmed  in 
one  of  our  leading  journals:  "The  perfunctory  manner  and 
loose  thinking  common  to  the  pulpit  are  scarcely  tolerable. 
There  is  no  longer  any  sarcasm  in  the  use  of  the  term  '  pulpit 
argument'  as  synonymous  with  ^unsound  reasoning,'  and  'pid- 
pit  rhetoric'  as  the  designation  of  'a  feeble  and  wilted  style.'" 

A  reviewer  of  this  article  comments  on  the  distinguished 
writer :  "  Let  him  for  a  few  years  be  put  into  the  clerical 
harness,  and  take  charge  of  a  large  parish,  and  meet  aU  the 
countless  claims  upon  his  time  and  energy  which  the  public 
now  makes  upon  the  ministry  j  and  be  required  to  produce 
two  elaborate  review  articles  for  the  pulpit  twice  each  week 
for  ten  months  in  the  year,  and  possibly  he  would  learn  some- 
thing which  might  just  a  little  soften  the  asperity  of  his 
regard  for  pulpit  argument  and  pulpit  rhetoric." 

Some  one  wi-iting  on  this  subject  says :  "  Intelligent  men 
everywhere  recognize  the  inability  of  ministers,  unless  won- 
derfully gifted,  to  prepare  two  new  sermons  of  high  character 


414  WORSHIP 

every  week  through  a  long  series  of  years  5 "  and  quotes  from 
John  Bright  the  remark:  '^Only  men  of  great  mind,  great 
knowledge,  and  great  power  can  do  this  with  success.  I  won- 
der that  any  man  can  do  it." 

From  several  other  testimonies  given  by  this  writer,  two  or 
three  are  added.  Says  Blakie  :  '^  Even  supposing  the  clergy- 
man has  no  other  work  to  do  but  to  compose  two  really  good 
sermons  a  week,  I  should  say  that  the  composition  of  two 
such  discourses,  with  the  previous  study  which  they  imply,  is 
more  than  enough  for  the  weekly  work.'^ 
,  Whitefield  prepared  his  sermons  with  much  care  and  then 
preached  them  a  great  many  times.  Garrick,  the  tragedian, 
speaking  of  Whitefield,  said  that  he  did  not  reach  perfection 
in  the  delivery  of  a  sermon  until  he  had  preached  it  forty 
times.  Charles  Dickens  prepared  himself  for  his  public  read- 
ings by  the  daily  effort  of  months.  Contrast  this  with  the 
hurried  writing  of  a  sermon  completed  late  Saturday  night 
and  delivered  with  very  brief  preparation.  Would  not  greater 
good  be  accomplished  by  devoting  more  time  to  the  study  and 
the  writing  of  the  sermon  and  repeating  it  occasionally? 

Mr.  Gough  repeats  his  lectures  frequently  in  the  same  com- 
munity. With  less  than  a  score  of  them,  it  is  said  he  has 
appeared  hundreds  of  times  in  some  of  our  cities. 

When  Massillon  was  asked  what  sermon  he  called  his  best, 
he  replied,  '^  The  one  I  know  best  by  heart."  Such  a  ser- 
mon requires  long  meditation  and  study,  not  cold  mechanical 
study,  but  that  in  which  the  heart  as  well  as  the  head  is 
thoroughly  enlisted. 

Now,  however  it  might  be  with  one  who  is  simply  a 
preacher,  it  is  certainly  impracticable  for  most  pastors,  with 
all  the  other  labor  devolving  on  them,  to  prepare  weelily  two 
discourses  of  this  character.  With  rare  exceptions,  either 
the  sermons  will  degenerate  or  the  minister  will  lose  ground 
physically. 

Read  Moody's  testimony  on  this  point,  given  at  a  farewell 
meeting  in  Dublin : 

"  I  have  heard  it  said  that  ministers  have  an  easy  time  of  it,  and  that 
while  they  preach  only  two  sermons  in  the  week,  I  am  at  the  work  con- 
tinually.    Well,  I  can  say,  in  answer  to  such  statements,  that  I  ivas  set- 


HOW    MANY    SERVICES  415 

tied  at  one  period  of  my  life  for  two  years  in  one  place,  and  I  worTccd  harder 
ivhen  I  was  then  preaching  two  sermons  in  the  week  than  I  have  done  since  all 
the  time  I  have  been  f/oing  up  and  down  through  the  country.  Clergymen 
have  many  things  to  do  in  addition  to  preacliing.  They  have  their  people 
to  look  after,  and  they  have  the  sick  to  visit.  I  would  rather  preach  five 
sermons  than  go  to  the  house  of  mourning.  It  takes  more  sympathy  and 
strength  from  me  than  preaching.  Then  a  minister  has  to  make  calls, 
receive  visitors,  and  bo  social ;  and  after  all  that,  he  has  to  prepare  his 
sermons.  But  it  has  been  said  preparing  two  sermons  is  easy  work.  If 
you  think  so,  just  try  it,  and  see  how  you  will  get  on.  If  you  think  your 
minister  has  an  easy  time  of  it,  try  his  work,  and  see  how  long  you  will 
continue  at  it.  Ministers  are  the  only  people,  I  might  say,  who  don't  get 
rest.  I  remember  when,  during  a  period  of  some  five  years,  I  tried 
often  to  get  rest,  and  I  never  knew  what  it  was.  There  were  cases  of 
sickness,  there  were  funerals,  and  there  was  always  something  turning  up 
to  occupy  the  whole  of  my  time." 

From  a  record  of  his  own  experience,  a  young  pastor  com- 
puted during  the  year  as  many  as  forty  special  occasions 
outside  the  parish  —  to  say  nothing  of  those  within  —  at  which 
he  was  expected  to  be  present,  making  as  an  average  about 
one  a  week  through  the  working  months.  Now,  is  it  strange 
that  with  such  never-ending  demands  ministers  are  often 
literally  unable  to  give  anything  but  hasty,  if  not  crude 
efforts  ?  Might  they  not  materially  covet  Mr.  Hale's  "  Double," 
even  at  the  risk  of  his  proving  their  "  undoing  "  ! 

Sooner  or  later  we  shall  be  likely  to  find  that  in  the  present 
condition  of  things  few  ministers  are  able,  year  in  and  year 
out,  adequately  to  prepare  two  sermons  a  week  ;  and  that  from 
persistence  in  the  attempt  may  come  a  loss  in  physical  vigor, 
or  in  the  character  of  the  sermons,  or  perhaps  in  both. 

It  is  objected  that  if,  as  proposed,  you  put  into  one  sermon 
the  labor  of  two,  no  relief  is  gained.  The  relief  comes  in  part 
in  the  liberty,  under  this  arrangement,  to  concentrate  the 
forces  on  one  effoi-t,  thus  securing  the  great  satisfaction  of 
doing  better  work.  You  can  get  more  cream,  as  has  been 
suggested,  from  setting  your  milk  in  one  deep  rather  than 
in  two  shallow  pans.  If  the  fewer  sermons  can  be  made  more 
effective,  greater  good  wiU  be  accomplished  by  them  than  by 
double  the  number  of  those  more  hastily  prepared.  Quality 
and  not  quantity  is  the  thing  to  be  aimed  at.  Were  it  the 
latter,  then  we  ought  to  value  books, —  not  according  to  their 


416  WORSHIP 

intrinsic  worth,  bnt  according  to  the  number  of  pages  they 
contain. 

It  is  argued  that  from  the  greater  facilities  for  a  thor- 
ough training  in  the  various  departments  of  sacred  literature, 
modern  clergymen  should  produce  two  weekly  sermons  with 
more  ease  than  their  less-favored  predecessors.  But  the 
question  does  not  depend  on  ministerial  education  or  intel- 
lectual ability.  It  is  from  the  pressure  of  work  unknown 
in  former  times  —  from  the  necessity  of  living  continually  in 
a  rarefied  atmosphere,  an  atmosphere  surcharged  with  elec- 
tricity and  involving  a  far  greater  expenditure  of  nervous 
force  —  that  the  change  is  advocated. 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that  in  very  many  of  those  churches 
which  still  keep  up  two  preaching  services  the  attendance  in 
one  part  of  the  day  is  so  small  as  to  be  disheartening  to  the 
pastor.  And  even  of  the  few  who  are  always  present,  some 
of  them,  from  their  own  admission,  go  from  a  sense  of  duty 
rather  than  from  choice. 

Most  of  us  can  recall  instances  of  disappointment  at  the 
comparatively  small  results  from  the  preaching  of  some  young 
man  of  talents,  acquisitions,  and  earnest  piety  ;  of  disappoint- 
ment, too,  that  the  man  had  not  grown  as  we  expected 
and  predicted,  and  that  his  sermons,  instead  of  gaining  in 
strength  and  matter  and  finish,  have  retrograded.  Yet  he 
may  not  have  a  drop  of  lazy  blood  in  his  veins,  and  every 
moment  may  have  been  filled  with  work.  He  has  simply 
mortgaged  his  strength,  and  the  day  of  reckoning  has  begun 
to  cast  its  shadow  in  advance. 

This  perpetual  pressure  is,  without  doubt,  one  of  the  causes 
of  the  short  pastorates  now  so  common.  Great  as  may  be  a 
minister's  attachment  to  his  people,  the  temptation  to  accept  a 
call  to  another  parish  where  he  can  avail  himself  of  former 
labors  is  sometimes  very  urgent. 

Exceptional  cases  may  be  named  —  Henry  Ward  Beecher, 
for  one.  To  say  nothing  of  his  robust  constitution,  his 
untroubled  nerves,  and  his  ability  to  sleep  under  all  circum- 
stances,— which  latter  is  the  surest  protection  against  break- 
ing down, — he  abounded  in  vitality  and  spontaneity  and  mag- 
netism. Moreover,  he  assumed  little  pastoral  charge  of  his 
people,  and  always  took  an  unusually  long  vacation. 


HOW    MANY    SERVICES  417 

This  question  has  a  relation  to  the  people  hardly  less  than  to 
the  minister.  There  are  intelligent  Christians  who  feel  that 
for  them  one  sermon,  properly  digested,  is  more  profitable 
than  two.  Willing  as  they  may  be  in  spirit,  the  flesh  is  often 
weak,  and  they  grow  weary  in  hearing,  as  does  the  minister  in 
preaching.  This,  again,  adds  to  his  burdens,  for  at  the  evening 
prayer-meeting,  where  they  ought  to  come  fresh  and  full  of 
vitality,  allowing  him  rest  and  refreshment  while  they  manage 
the  oars,  he  finds  them  so  weary  from  the  tension  of  mind  in 
w^hich  they  have  been  kept  all  day,  that  they  often  have  noth- 
ing to  give ;  and  exhausted  as  the  pastor  may  be,  the  nerve- 
force  of  the  meeting  must  be  supplied  by  him,  and  at  an 
expenditure  of  strength  of  which  they  have  no  conception. 

As  to  the  tendency  of  the  change  toward  Sabbath  desecra- 
tion, it  is  scarcely  to  be  credited  that  those  who  are  in  the 
habit  of  attendance  at  a  second  preaching  service  would 
consider  themselves  justified  simply  because  this  service  is 
dispensed  with,  in  joining  the  crowd  of  Sabbath-breakers, 
especially  when  the  time  might  be  so  pleasantly  and  profitably 
spent  in  the  family  circle.  In  the  pressure  of  the  various 
Sunday  services,  home  life  has  unquestionably  suffered,  and 
that  is  a  loss  for  which,  from  its  far-reaching  influence,  noth- 
ing can  compensate.  If  there  is  still  surplus  time  and 
strength,  let  the  hearers  themselves,  in  their  way,  become 
preachers,  going  out  into  the  highways  and  hedges,  that  they 
may  win  some  wayfarer  to  Christ. 

'^  The  Congregationalist,"  which  made  inquh-ies  of  New 
England  ministers  who  had  tried  the  one-sermon  plan,  re- 
ceived and  published  some  forty  answers,  all  of  them  speak- 
ing favorably  of  the  results  of  the  change.  There  was,  of 
course,  a  variety  of  arrangements,  according  to  the  circum- 
stances of  the  parish,  some  preferring  to  have  the  Sunday- 
school  in  connection  with  the  preaching  service,  and  others  to 
take  the  afternoon  for  it  under  the  name  of  a  Bible  service, 
bringing  in,  so  far  as  possible,  the  whole  congregation.  A 
few  quotations  will  give  the  drift  of  this  "  Congregation alist" 
broadside : 

"  For  years  our  people  have  borne  the  burden  of  a  preaching  service  at 
half-past  ten,  a  Sunday-school  at  one,  another  sermon  at  half-past  two, 
and  a  praver-raeeting  at  seven.     Some  bear  the  marks  of  the  struggle 

27 


418  WORSHIP 

now,  and  will  probably,  like  Jacob,  go  lame  therefrom  to  the  end  of  their 
pilgrimage-     These  are  some  of  the  results  of  the  change  : 

''  A  large  increase  in  the  attendance  of  the  Sabbath-school. 

*'The  effect  upon  our  service  in  the  sanctuary  is  healthful,  and  the 
people  are  more  wide-awake  and  fresh  to  worship  and  listen. 

''  They  enjoy  the  preaching  more  than  under  the  crowded  plan.  Many 
think  the  sermons  are  better. 

''  It  allows  the  pastor  to  concentrate  all  the  energies  of  his  working 
hours  from  Tuesday  morning  until  Saturday  night  upon  one  theme,  pre- 
venting him  from  spreading  himself  out  so  thin  as  two  sermons  would 
require  him  to  do. 

"  It  conduces  to  unity  of  impression  upon  the  people.  Especially  if  the 
subject  of  the  evening  meeting  bears  upon  the  theme  of  the  morning  dis- 
course, the  people  each  Sabbath  carry  away  some  definite  impression  of 
some  one  truth. 

"  It  gives  people  some  part  of  the  Sabbath  to  spend  with  their  families. 
Those  who  are  inclined  to  break  the  Sabbath  are  seldom,  if  ever,  found 
at  the  afternoon  service. 

'*It  carries  many  of  the  adult  members  of  the  congregation  into  the 
Sabbath-school,  and  brings  the  people  out  in  force  to  the  evening  prayer- 
meeting." 

''  The  advantages  are :  Time  for  family  intercourse  and  home  instruc- 
tion, opportunity  for  some  to  labor  in  other  places,  definiteness  and 
concentration  of  impression,  real  profit  from  the  service,  and  freshness 
for  the  prayer-meeting." 

"  Universal  satisfaction;  a  large,  attentive  audience  in  the  morning;  a 
church  interest  in  the  Sunday-school ;  a  pastor's  Bible  class ;  a  fully 
attended  prayer-meeting,  and,  withal,  an  opportunity  to  obey  the  divine 
injunction  :  '  The  seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath  of  rest.'  " 

"  It  seems  to  give  just  about  the  normal  amount  of  work  which  a  man 
can  do  well,  and  not  break  down.  Nothing  could  induce  us  to  return  to 
the  old  plan." 

^'  Rest  and  home  life  for  business  men,  and  vigorous  mission-work  in 
the  afternoon,  and  an  interesting  prayer-meeting,  reaching  many  unac- 
customed to  attend  through  the  week.  " 

''Pastor  and  people  are  both  benefited  by  the  change." 

"  It  is  the  quality  of  the  preaching  and  hearing,  and  not  the  quantity, 
which  Protestants,  who  do  not  go  by  count  of  beads,  or  anything  else, 
ought  to  consider." 

"Experience  shows  that  Sabbath-breakers  are  not  the  ones  whom  an 
afternoon  sermon  will  commonly  draw." 

"  Better  sermons  ;  better  attendance  upon  all  the  religious  exercises  ; 
more  time  for  parental  instruction  at  home." 

''Opportunity  for  reading,  instruction,  and  mutual  acquaintance  in 
the  home-circle,  greater  numbers  at  the  prayer-meeting,  and  better 
sermons." 

"A  better  sermon,  a  stronger  minister  physically  and  spiritually,  a 
more  successful  Sunday-school,  and  a  live  prayer-meeting. " 


HOW    MANY    SERVICES  419 

"  Abetter  chance  for  the  culture  of  home  life." 

"The  following  has  been  the  practice  of  one  church  for  seven  years; 
Morning  worship  with  sermon ;  evening  worship ;  first  Sunday  in  the 
month,  church-work  concert;  second,  Sabbath-school  concert;  third, 
preaching  service ;  fourth,  praise-meeting.  The  needs  of  the  people 
should  determine  in  each  church." 

The  second  preaching  service,  in  a  good  number  of  churches, 
comes  in  the  evening,  which  is  a  less  burdensome  arrangement 
than  that  which  has  generally  prevailed,  at  least  in  New  Eng- 
land. Stin  the  arguments,  for  both  pastor  and  people,  in 
favor  of  but  one  sermon  under  some  circumstances  remain 
unchanged.  The  programme  for  Sunday  evening,  last  named, 
is  very  attractive.  There  is  a  manifest  advantage  in  hav- 
ing the  monthly  or  church-work  concert  at  a  time  when  the 
largest  attendance  can  be  obtained.  By  putting  the  various 
fields,  both  home  and  foreign,  in  charge  of  particular  per- 
sons, for  monthly  report,  a  live  as  well  as  instructive  meeting 
may  be  secui-ed.  It  is  no  less  desirable  to  have  a  Sabbath- 
school  concert,  which  shall  interest  the  old  as  weU  as  the 
young.  A  union  preaching  service,  if  it  can  be  had,  is  a 
pleasant  and  profitable  arrangement,  but  if  not,  the  prepara- 
tion of  a  monthly  would  be  very  different  from  that  of  a 
weekly  additional  sermon.  A  praise-meeting,  in  which  the 
whole  congregation,  so  far  as  possible,  shall  take  part,  is  a 
fitting  close  for  the  month.  When  there  is  a  fifth  Sabbath,  a 
prayer-meeting  might  occupy  the  evening,  and  could  also  be 
easily  substituted  for  any  of  the  others. 

A  successful  pastor  writes :  ^^  My  best  ideal  of  Sunday  is  a 
full  morning  service,  with  Sunday-school,  all  together  three 
hours  long,  and  the  rest  of  the  day  devoted  to  household 
life.  My  next  ideal  is  a  morning  service  in  which  the  sermon 
is  sharply  a  treatment  of  some  Christian  theme,  and  an  even- 
ing service  in  which  some  of  the  application  of  Christianity  to 
society  are  considered  by  the  preacher, —  temperance,  missions, 
social  reforms,  sanitary  arrangements.  I  favor  this  because  I 
think  Christianity  is  to  be  made  more  ethical,  and  brought 
closer  to  the  progress  of  society." 

Such  sermons  would  cost  great  labor,  but  by  uniting  with 
other  churches  this  difficulty  would  be  lessened,  and  larger 
congregations  secured. 


420  WORSHIP 

It  will  be  seen  that  among  the  advantages  of  the  one-sermon 
plan  made  prominent  in  this  argument,  as  well  as  in  the  pre- 
ceding summary,  is  that  of  gaining  opportunity  for  family 
intercourse  for  which  under  the  other  system  there  is  literally 
no  time.  It  is  difficult  to  overestimate  the  importance  of  thus 
bringing  parents  and  children  and  brothers  and  sisters  into 
closer  social  and  spiritual  relations. 

Some  ministers  who  have  made  this  change,  and  who  are 
men  of  ability  and  devotion  to  their  work,  express  themselves 
unequivocally  as  to  the  relief  they  have  experienced,  affirming 
that  now  for  the  first  time  they  know  the  great  joy  of  pre- 
paring sermons  and  of  preaching  them.  This  must  do  much 
toward  reconciling  those  of  the  flock  who  miss  their  accus- 
tomed second  portion.  If  they  have  allowed  their  pastor  to 
drag  on  heavily,  overworked,  and  therefore  often  dispirited,  it 
has  been  ignorantly  and  not  from  indifference.  They  will, 
doubtless,  learn  to  be  well  content  with  one  Sunday  '^  feast  of 
fat  things." 

It  would  be  a  grievous  injustice  to  infer  that  those  who 
favor  the  one-sermon  arrangement  are  indolent,  inefficient 
men,  lacking  in  true  devotion  to  their  work.  If  there  are 
drones  in  the  pulpit,  as  doubtless  there  are,  by  all  means 
drive  them  out  of  the  ministerial  hive.  It  is  the  very  last 
place  for  them.  But  while  a  few  may  favor  the  change  from 
unworthy  motives,  the  most  who  do  so  are  faithful,  conse- 
crated, useful  ministers. 

It  would,  also,  be  unjust  to  pastor  and  people  to  claim  that 
the  proposal  comes  from  a  lower  estimate  than  formerly  of 
the  value  of  preaching. 

No  one  will  deny  that  this  is  the  great  work  of  the  minister. 
To  argue  from  this,  however,  that  they  who  deliver  only  one 
sermon  on  the  Sabbath  are  thereby  underrating  the  preaching 
service,  would  hardly  be  Christian  charity. 

But  it  should  be  repeated  that  latitudes  and  longitudes  have 
much  to  do  with  the  question.  When  the  congregations  in 
the  two  services  are  different,  as  is  frequently  the  case  at  the 
West,  especially  in  localities  where  the  Germans  are  a  large 
element  in  the  population,  the  duty  of  maintaining  two  preach- 
ing services  may  be  unquestionable.    In  such  cases  this  double 


HOW    MANY    SERVICES  421 

preaching  is  less  burdensome.  A  young  pastor,  settled  in  one 
of  our  New  England  towns,  found  himself,  after  a  year  or  two, 
so  worn  by  the  pressirre  of  the  two  sermons  that  he  resigned 
his  charge.  He  stated  to  the  council  which  dismissed  him 
that  when  he  found  himself,  week  after  week,  obliged  to  pre- 
pare a  second  sermon  to  preach,  to  the  same  people  who 
had  heard  him  in  the  morning,  many  of  whom  he  had  reason 
to  know  came  out  the  second  time  from  a  sheer  sense  of  duty 
in  order  to  keep  up  the  accustomed  service,  the  preparation 
and  delivery  of  this  sermon  became  more  and  more  a  burden 
and  a  weariness,  till  he  could  bear  it  no  longer.  His  next 
parish  was  in  a  Western  town,  where  the  evening  congrega- 
tion was  entirely  different  from  that  in  the  morning,  requiring 
a  totally  different  kind  of  sermon.  Under  the  altered  circum- 
stances, he  maintained  two  preaching  services  with  compara- 
tive ease. 

It  is  fully  believed  by  many  conscientious  and  laborious 
clergymen  that  the  proposed  change  would  make  their  min- 
istry more  effective.  This  has  already  been  the  result  with 
most  of  those  who  have  tried  the  plan,  and  who  are  emphatic 
in  theii'  conviction  of  the  good  it  has  brought  to  their 
chiu'ches.  And  in  conservative  Massachusetts,  of  the  five  hun- 
dred and  twenty -three  Congi'egational  churches,  four  hundred 
and  fifty  have  come  into  this  arrangement. 

Certain  difficulties  and  drawbacks  are  experienced,  such  as 
are  incidental  to  every  change ;  but  if  the  result  justifies  the 
experience,  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  there  wiU  be  some  satis- 
factory adjustment  of  all  such  difficulties. 


Ill 

THE   SERVICE    OF    SONG 

MR.  MOODY  is  in  the  habit  of  firing  into  the  choir  gal- 
leries a  few  Parthian  shots,  not  all  of  which  are  well 
aimed.  "  Quartette  choirs  '^  are  his  abomination,  and  he  does 
not  scruple  to  denounce  them  as  inventions  of  the  devil.  Yet 
on  the  day  when  I  heard  Mr.  Moody  deliver  this  philippic,  he 
had  a  quartette  on  his  own  platform,  and  frequently  during 
his  meetings  portions  of  the  hymns  were  sung  by  a  quartette 
or  a  semi-chorus.  A  quartette  choir  that  is  not  supported  by 
a  chorus,  and  that  monopolizes  all  the  music  of  the  church, 
leading  the  congregation,  if  the  congregation  is  ever  requested 
to  sing,  in  such  a  freaky  and  fractious  way  that  nobody  can 
sing  —  such  a  quartette  is  indeed  a  nuisance.  A  small  ring  of 
musicians  like  this  is  sometimes  allowed  to  take  possession  of 
the  galler}^,  and  to  spread  itself  over  a  considerable  portion 
of  the  Sunday  service.  The  singing  is  simply  a  performance ; 
there  is  no  worship  in  it,  nor  any  thought  of  worship  5  it  is 
simply  art  5  and  it  pleases  those  people  to  whom  church-going 
is  a  decent  diversion,  and  religion  a  polite  observance.  It 
will  generally  be  found  true  (though  there  are  occasional  ex- 
ceptions) that  a  quartette  choir  will  sing  the  lightest  and 
most  florid  music.  Church  music  of  the  best  quality  a  quar- 
tette cannot  sing.  True  church  music  is  choral  music;  it 
caUs  for  large  volumes  and  broad  effects,  and  you  can  no 
more  fitly  render  it  with  a  quartette  than  you  can  reproduce 
Niagara  with  four  buckets  of  water.  A  hymn-tune  like 
"Duke  Street,"  or  "  Pleyel's  Hymn,"  or  "St.  Ann's";  an  an- 
them like  "He  Watching  Over  Israel,"  from  "Elijah,"  or 
"  The  Lord  is  Good,"  from  "  Eli,"  when  sung  by  a  quartette, 
are  quite  too  thin.  And,  since  quartettes  cannot  sing  music 
of  this  kind,  they  are  likely  to  resort  to  brilliant  and  showy 
pieces,  in  which  their  execution  can  be  best  displayed. 

Moreover,  the  congregation  will  not  sing  with  a  quartette. 
Here,  again,  there  are  some  exceptions ;  but  this  is  the  rule. 

422 


THE    SERVICE    OF    SONG  423 

The  quartette  can  never  lead  a  congregation  very  well  if  it 
would,  and  generally  it  would  not  if  it  could.  The  ideas 
about  music  which  are  likely  to  prevail  in  the  gallery  where 
the  quartette  reigns  alone,  are  ideas  which  do  not  harmonize 
with  congregational  singing. 

To  resign  the  church  music  into  the  hands  of  a  quartette  is, 
therefore,  to  depreciate  it,  and  often  to  make  it  an  abomina- 
tion. But  the  quartette  has  its  place,  nevertheless,  in  public 
worship,  and  when  it  is  kept  in  its  place  it  is  a  good  thing. 
The  true  church  choir  is  a  large  chorus,  in  which  there  should 
be  four  singers,  each  capable  of  singing  alone,  and  all  trained 
to  sing  together.  Such  a  choir  can  render  the  best  church 
music  acceptably,  and  can  also  successfully  lead  a  congre- 
gation. 

Two  objects  are  to  be  sought  in  church  music  —  religious 
impression  and  religious  expression.  It  is  a  crude  notion 
that  no  music  is  legitimate  in  church  except  that  in  which  the 
whole  congregation  may  join.  The  congregation  may  be 
benefited  by  listening  as  well  as  by  singing.  But  those  who 
listen  find  emotions  stirring  within  them  which  it  will  do 
them  good  to  express  for  themselves ;  and  therefore  the  con- 
gregation ought  to  have  an  opportunity  to  pour  out  its  voice 
in  a  grand  choral  song.  And  when  the  congregation  is  called 
on  to  sing,  the  value  of  the  chorus  as  a  leader  is  felt.  The 
congregation  will  sing  with  a  chorus  to  lead ;  and,  led  by  such 
a  force  of  steadily  marching  melody,  it  is  quite  impossible 
that  there  should  be  any  dragging,  or  that  the  discords  should 
make  themselves  prominent. 

The  great  meetings  of  the  evangelists  show  us  the  value  of 
these  methods  of  praise.  The  solos  of  Mr.  Sankey  are  often 
impressive ;  who  will  cavil  at  this  method  of  conveying  truth 
or  awakening  emotion  ?  The  choruses  of  the  great  choir  are 
often  still  more  impressive;  no  person  who  watches  a  congre- 
gation listening  to  spirited  and  triumphant  sacred  song  fi'om 
a  large  body  of  trained  singers  will  doubt  the  value  of  such 
a  service  as  a  means  of  religious  impression.  And  yet  for  the 
proper  rendering  of  these  choruses  it  is  better  that  portions  of 
them  be  sung  by  a  single  voice,  or  by  two  or  three  or  four 
trained  voices.     A  phrase  or  a  stanza  may  often  be  well  deliv- 


424  WORSHIP 

ered  in  tliis  manner,  heightening  the  effect  of  the  music,  and 
fixing  attention  still  more  strongly  upon  the  words  of  the 
song.  Then,  when  the  great  congregation,  moved  by  the 
singing  to  which  it  has  listened,  and  the  other  services  in 
which  it  has  engaged,  is  called  to  "  stand  up  and  bless  the 
Lord"  in  some  simple  and  familiar  hymn,  its  response  is  a 
burst  of  praise,  in  which  the  angels  might  well  wish  to  join. 

Whatever,  therefore,  Mr.  Moody's  theories  of  church  music 
may  be,  his  meetings  show  us  the  value  of  solo  singing,  of 
(juartette  singing,  of  chorus  singing,  and  of  congregational 
singing ;  and  make  plain  to  us  that  we  can  afford  to  dispense 
with  none  of  these  methods  of  praise  in  our  churches. 


lY 
THE  ORGANIST 

THE  management  of  the  music  is  perhaps  the  most  intri- 
cate and  the  most  backward  of  all  ordinary  parish  prob- 
lems. Its  somewhat  notorious  character  as  a  problem  arises 
both  from  its  nature  and  from  long-standing  errors  of  theory 
and  practice.  Its  inherent  dangers  will  never  be  successfulh' 
avoided  without  an  attempt  to  treat  it  radically,  systematic- 
ally, and  in  downright  earnest.  Isolated  improvements  and 
reforms,  undirected  by  a  consistent  general  theory,  are  of 
but  ambiguous  utility, —  useful  when  successful  enough  to 
quicken  a  common-sense  view  of  the  whole  subject,  but  harm- 
ful when  so  w^eak  as  to  arouse  ridicule  or  so  superficial  as  not 
to  uncover  any  important  principle. 

The  average  mind  dislikes  ''  general  principles.*'  Abstract 
statements  are  regarded  as  dry  and  barren.  Theories  pass 
current  only  at  much  less  than  their  face  value.  There  are 
two  ways  to  realize  even  the  best  theories.  One  way  is  to  pro- 
vide an  actual  sample  of  the  working  of  the  theory,  so  perti- 
nent, so  extensive,  so  attractive,  that  public  attention  shall  be 
captured  by  surprise,  without  a  chance  either  to  fight  or  to 
run  away.  The  other  way  is  to  make  up  the  theory  into  a 
man,  infolding  the  bare  skeleton  of  speculation  with  the 
warm  energy  of  a  personality.  Both  methods  may  be  used 
in  advancing  a  right  theory  of  church  music.  There  are 
some  notable  examples  of  such  a  theory  in  its  true  dignity 
and  power.  But  unfortunately  these  rai'e  specimens  cannot 
be  brought  to  the  notice  of  many  different  people,  and  thus  be 
made  to  serve  as  great  object-lessons.  The  guidance  and  force 
of  personal  leaders  and  teachers  are  needed  to  create  a  multitude 
of  such  examples,  and  gradually  to  make  them  the  rule  rather 
than  the  exception.  That  is,  in  addition  to  our  ministers,  with 
whatever  knowledge  of  music  and  of  music  in  worship  they 
may  have  received  in  their  seminary  preparation,  a  special 

425 


426  WORSHIP 

class  of  professional  musicians  is  needed,  trained  not  only  in 
the  technics  of  music  but  also  in  the  whole  subject  of  music 
as  a  phase  of  church  life.  This  latter  method  is  the  only  one 
naturally  fitted  to  win  extensive  success.  Nothing  in  church 
work  can  succeed  Avithout  the  application  of  personal  power ; 
and  in  the  matter  of  the  music  such  power  must  emanate 
primarily,  of  course,  from  the  minister,  but  secondarily  and 
specially,  from  the  organist.  Accordingly  we  devote  ourselves 
to  a  study  of  the  qualifications  that  should  be  sought  by  con- 
gregations in  their  organists  or  musical  leaders. 

First.  Not  the  least  of  an  organist's  qualifications  is  some 
genuine  knowledge  of  music.  This  is  self-evident.  Yet  the 
precise  kind  of  knowledge  required  is  a  proper  theme  for  dis- 
cussion. A  player  whose  taste  is  limited  to  the  rub-a-dub-dub 
class  of  music,  to  the  thousand  and  one  marches  and  waltzes 
of  the  cheap-music  catalogue,  is  plainly  unprepared  to  supply 
in  church  worship  the  solemn  ministries  of  the  nobler  forms 
of  song  and  instrumental  composition.  Even  a  player  who 
dotes  upon  the  sentimental  melody  of  the  average  '^  Idylle,"  or 
the  smooth  neatness  of  the  average  "Andante,"  is  hardly  stal- 
wart enough  in  taste  to  appreciate  a  sterling  English  anthem 
or  a  massive  organ  prelude.  A  taste  for  opera,  even  for  opera 
of  the  higher  grade,  is  but  a  doubtful  basis  for  leadership  in 
church  music,  since  the  fine  points  of  the  operatic  stjde  are 
quite  unlike  those  of  the  true  church  style. 

An  aptitude  for  some  standard  type  of  non-dramatic  music, 
as  for  classical  piano-writing,  for  choral  works,  or  for  sym- 
phonic music,  is  far  more  promising,  because  it  implies  a  true 
artistic  taste,  a  taste  that  has  outgrown  the  craving  for  mere 
jingle,  mere  mellifluousness,  or  mere  passion.  A  manager  of 
church  music  should  feel  in  his  soul  the  great  gulf  between 
the  music  that  only  tickles  the  ear  and  that  w^hich  touches  the 
heart,  or  utters  its  emotions  ;  and  he  should  be  ready  to  insist, 
with  the  force  of  an  independent  conviction,  that  the  former 
class,  however  suitable  to  the  social  gathering  or  to  the  con- 
cert-room, is  worse  than  useless  in  the  church.  He  should  be 
alive  to  the  more  intellectual  qualities  of  music,  that  is,  to 
constructive  strength  and  ingenuity,  to  that  balance  and  con- 
trast of  parts  which  constitutes  "form,"  and  to  the  more 


THE    ORGANIST  427 

recondite  fitting  of  musical  material  to  the  expression  and 
illumination  of  thought.  A  musician  who  overlooks  the 
beauty  of  "  thematic  "  composition  is  necessarily  cut  off  from 
most  of  the  higher  and  more  religious  species  of  music.  Par- 
ticularly should  the  leader  of  church  music  be  a  student  of  the 
historic  development  of  church  music.  Whether  he  may  per- 
form them  or  not,  he  should  constantly  refresh  and  enlarge  his 
taste  by  diligently  studying  the  standard  oratorios  and  masses, 
the  works  of  the  leading  German  motettists  and  English 
anthem-writers,  together  with  those  of  the  less  sensational 
composers  for  the  organ.  In  short,  not  only  should  the  pro- 
fessional church  musician  aim  to  be  a  musician  in  the  best  use 
of  that  term,  but  to  be  a  specialist  among  musicians,  cultivat- 
ing a  peculiar  field  and  always  recognizing  the  limits  that 
separate  that  field  from  all  others. 

Second.  Some  skill  as  an  executant  is  important  in  an 
organist.  He  should  play  well  enough  to  command  the 
respect  of  his  singers  and  hearers.  He  should  not  blunder 
so  as  to  make  his  music  unintelligible.  He  should  not  be 
so  tied  to  one  or  two  hobbies  as  to  become  tiresome.  He 
must  be  earnest  enough  to  be  always  growing  in  power,  and 
bright  enough  to  adapt  himself  to  circumstances  and  occa- 
sions. He  should  be  able  to  play  moderately  difficult  prel- 
udes, to  accompany  with  taste  and  accuracy  a  plain  choral 
anthem  or  an  ordinary  air,  and  to  supply  an  adequate  sup- 
port and  guidance  for  congregational  singing.  He  needs 
experience  in  playing  at  sight,  an  accomplishment  that  de- 
pends largely  upon  practice.  He  needs  to  know  the  rudi- 
ments of  harmony,  of  the  manipulation  of  organ-stops,  and  of 
voice-training.  He  does  not  need,  though  he  may  sometimes 
profitably  use,  a  decided  dexterity  of  finger  and  of  foot,  since 
mere  virtuosity  is  uncalled  for  in  church  services.  He  should 
understand  enough  of  the  mechanism  of  the  organ,  whether 
pipe  or  reed,  to  correct  chance  displacements,  to  repair  small 
breakages,  and  to  do  some  tuning. 

Third.  The  organist  is  usually  also  choir-master.  If  so,  he 
should  have  the  personal  qualities  to  insure  his  easy  suprem- 
acy among  his  singers.  He  should  be  a  gentleman,  consider- 
ate, courteous,  pleasant-spoken.     He  should  be  old  and  mse 


428  WORSHIP 

enough  to  command  respect  and  encourage  confidence.  He 
should  be  tactful  in  handling  immature  and  thoughtless  and 
even  disagreeable  people,  so  as  to  elicit  good  work  even  from 
unpromising  material.  He  should  have  firmness  at  least  of 
outward  demeanor.  He  needs  the  smaller  virtues  of  prompt- 
ness and  business  precision,  so  that  his  rehearsals  may  begin 
and  proceed  energetically.  He  particularly  needs  the  art,  or 
the  grace,  of  giving  corrections  and  rebukes  so  as  not  to  cause 
mortification  or  resentment. 

In  cases  where  the  organist  is  not  the  chorister,  the  forego- 
ing remarks  should  be  transferred  to  the  latter.  Whether  it 
be  wise  to  have  both  a  leader  and  a  player  depends  upon  cir- 
cumstances. It  is,  of  course,  hard  to  find  all  desirable  traits 
united  in  a  single  person.  Yet,  probably  in  most  cases  the 
organist  should  be  chorister  also,  but  with  a  large  chorus 
choir  a  division  of  labor  is  often  unavoidable.  But  the 
responsibility  should  always  be  vested  in  one  person  only.  If 
there  be  a  separate  chorister,  the  organist  usually  should  rank 
as  his  assistant. 

Women  are  apt  to  be  deficient  in  the  executive  and  dicta- 
torial qualities  that  belong  to  the  ideal  choii^-leader.  In  all 
other  respects  they  are  at  least  as  well  fitted  as  men  for  the 
office  of  church  organist.  Indeed,  the  higher  traits  of  church 
musician  are  rather  more  common  among  women  than  among 
men. 

Fourth.  We  come  now  to  those  qualifications  of  an  organist 
that  are,  perhaps,  less  obvious,  and  yet  that  have  most  to  do 
with  his  success  as  a  church  official.  We  refer  to  the  intel- 
lectual and  moral  principles  that  should  control  his  work.  Of 
these  the  most  fundamental  is  that  church  music,  in  all  its 
forms,  is  a  means  and  not  an  end,  an  accessory  to  the  pur- 
poses of  public  worship,  an  attendant  or  acolyte.  Its  sub- 
servient and  subsidiary  position  is  too  often  overlooked,  even 
by  earnest  and  sagacious  people.  Yet  its  true  position  must 
be  recognized  by  those  who  are  to  manage  it,  if  they  are  not 
to  make  ridiculous  and  obnoxious  uses  of  it.  There  is  a  radi- 
cal distinction  between  a  concert  musician  and  a  church 
musician, —  the  one  labors  to  give  pleasure  to  his  audience, 
and  thus  to  secure  professional  honor  to  himself  5  the  other 


THE    ORGANIST  429 

labors  either  to  guide  the  mood  of  a  worshiping  congregation, 
or  to  assist  in  the  expression  of  that  mood.  In  church  music 
the  delight  of  the  hearer  and  the  eclat  of  the  performer  are 
not  only  of  small  moment,  but  they  are  actually  obstructive 
considerations. 

A  distinguished  pastor  tersely  says  that  the  objects  of 
Protestant  church  worship  are  "  expression,  instruction,  and 
inspiration.'^  Expression  is  secured  through  all  congrega- 
tional exercises,  and  through  the  vicarious  services  of  min- 
ister, choir,  and  organist.  Instruction  is  afforded  by  the 
Scripture  lessons  and  the  sermon.  Inspiration  flows  from  the 
mere  assemblage  of  many  worshipers,  from  the  solemnizing 
impressions  of  the  church  edifice,  from  the  organ  music,  from 
certain  kinds  of  choir-singing,  from  the  heartiness  of  united 
exercises,  and  from  the  influence  of  the  minister's  personality. 
Now,  if  this  be  a  fair  statement  of  the  true  purposes  of  public 
worship,  it  follows  that  all  forms  of  church  music  should  con- 
duce to  these  and  these  only ;  and  the  church  organist  should 
devote  himseK  wholly  to  them.  If  he  be  a  music-teacher, 
sorely  in  need  of  advertisement,  he  should  yet  be  manly 
enough  to  keep  his  church  work  uninfluenced  by  personal 
considerations.  If  he  be  a  growing  artist,  eager  for  the  beau- 
ties of  his  wonderful  art,  wrapt  up  in  his  progress  as  a  stu- 
dent, he  should  yet  strictly  curb  his  ambitions  within  the  lines 
laid  down  by  the  paramount  objects  of  church  worship.  This 
is  ^'a  hard  sa^dng^to  many  organists,  no  doubt,  but  it  is 
fundamental. 

The  radical  difference  between  music  outside  the  church 
and  music  inside  the  church  is  that  the  one  is  "  art  for  art's 
sake,"  while  the  other  is  art  applied  to  the  furtherance  of 
Christian  worship.  The  church  organist  should  feel  the 
difference  and  govern  himself  accordingly,  even  at  much 
sacrifice.  He  will  not  succeed  as  a  church  official  unless 
he  be  an  attentive  student  of  public  worship  in  all  its  aspects, 
and  unless  he  watch  the  phenomena  of  worship  in  his  own 
church  and  adapt  himself  to  special  needs  and  occasions. 
His  official  honor  should  be  stirred  to  make  his  music  con- 
tribute distinctly  and  always  to  the  fervor  of  the  services  of 
which  it  is  a  part. 


430  WORSHIP 

Fifth.  This  necessitates  another  step.  If  the  organist  is  in 
honor  bound  to  be  a  student  of  public  worship,  and  to  put 
his  work  into  vital  connection  with  the  prime  motives  of  that 
worship,  he  will  find  himself  hopelessly  perplexed  if  he  does 
not  himself  participate  in  that  worship.  It  is  strange  that 
many  churches  are  utterly  indifferent  to  the  spirituality  of 
their  musical  leaders,  when  they  are  solicitous  about  that 
of  their  pastors.  Nothing  points  so  clearly  as  this  to  the 
wide-spread  misapprehension  of  the  real  function  of  music 
in  worship.  The  organist  or  chorister,  if  he  is  anything,  is 
a  leader  or  guide  in  the  act  of  worship.  His  duties  in  a 
religious  sense  cannot  be  other  than  vitally  important.  Yet, 
in  many  places,  he  is  treated  with  a  frivolous  thoughtlessness. 
He  is  looked  upon  as  an  entertainer,  a  purveyor  of  luxury, 
like  the  upholsterer  that  cushions  the  pews.  He  is  called 
to  account  as  a  hireling  of  the  '^  society,"  like  the  sexton. 
He  is  perhaps  sneered  at  by  the  officers  of  the  church  as 
^'  only  a  musician.''  He  is  rarely  expected  to  act  as  if  charged 
with  any  religious  responsibility.  His  religious  character  is 
often  not  even  considered.  Even  his  morality  may  be  noto- 
riously bad  without  apparently  disqualifying  him.  That  he 
should  be  as  devoted  to  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  parish 
as  the  pastor  or  the  Sunday-school  superintendent  would 
in  many  places  be  regarded  as  a  fanatically  extreme  propo- 
sition. It  is  not  strange,  when  churches  are  so  reckless  about 
the  religious  qualifications  of  their  musical  leaders,  that  they 
often  suffer  bitterly  for  their  laxity.  There  can  be  no  assured 
success  or  fitness  in  the  musical  elements  of  social  worship 
unless  the  person  who  manages  them  is  in  hearty  sympathy 
with  the  worshiping  assembly.  Recklessness  as  to  the  char- 
acter of  musical  leaders  is  not  only  dangerous,  but  wrong. 
How  can  worship  be  acceptable  to  God  that  proceeds  under 
the  management  of  a  man  whose  service  is  perfunctory  and 
heartless  ? 

Sixth.  The  organist  should  be  the  intimate  friend  of  the. 
pastor  and  his  sworn  ally  in  the  work  of  conducting  public 
worship.  The  one  is  commander-in-chief,  the  other  aide-de- 
camp. Success  can  only  come  through  unanimity  of  action. 
Even  when  the   organist  is  inclined  to  disagree  with  his 


THE    ORGANIST  431 

superior  officer,  he  is  still  bound,  by  a  kind  of  military  disci- 
pline, to  execute  orders  to  the  best  of  his  ability.  He  may 
remonstrate  if  he  pleases,  but  it  is  treason  for  him  to  falter  or 
disobey.  But,  wherever  it  is  at  all  possible,  the  relation 
between  the  pastor  and  the  organist  should  be  one  of  mutual 
respect  and  regard.  They  should  magnify  their  common  aims 
and  methods  J  they  should  support  each  other  in  critical  under- 
takings; they  should  confer  together  about  improvements  and 
reforms.  The  pastor  should  find  in  the  organist  an  assistant, 
and  the  congregation  should  accept  the  fact;  according  to  the 
latter  a  measure  of  the  deference  they  give  the  former. 

Seventh.  This  leads  us  to  add  that  the  organist  should  be 
actively  interested  in  the  life  and  personnel  of  the  congrega- 
tion he  serves.  He  should  know  the  majority  of  the  people, 
so  as  to  secure  their  personal  attachment  and  loyalty ;  he 
should  watch  the  development  of  musical  taste  and  ability  in 
the  parish ;  he  should  have  relations  of  official  intercourse 
with  young  and  old,  with  rich  and  poor,  with  musical  and 
unmusical,  so  that  his  work  may  receive  cordial  support  and 
be  wisely  adapted  to  actual  conditions.  Yet  he  should  be 
independent,  not  the  creature  of  some  prominent  man  or 
woman.  Through  his  work  in  the  church  he  should  acquire  a 
place  of  honor  in  the  community  at  large. 

Eiglitli,  The  selection  of  an  organist  should  be  jointly 
undertaken  by  the  church  and  the  society,  exactly  as  is  the 
selection  of  a  pastor.  In  both  cases,  since  the  offices  are  both 
of  spiritual  importance,  the  church  or  session  should  nominate 
and  the  society  cooperate  by  fixing  business  details.  If  care 
were  exercised  in  this  selection,  there  would  naturally  be  more 
permanence  in  the  organist's  tenure  of  office  than  now. 
Nothing  does  more  to  demoralize  the  church  music  profes- 
sion than  the  expectation  of  annual  removals.  It  checks 
laudable  ambitions,  and  plants  a  fearful  crop  of  ignol^le  ones. 
It  is  hard  to  say  wliether  it  reacts  more  harmfully  upon  the 
churches  or  upon  the  musicians. 

Supposing  that  a  reasonable  attention  has  been  paid  to 
these  qualifications  of  an  organist,  what  is  due  from  the  con- 
gi'egation  to  their  chosen  musical  leader  ?  In  the  first  place, 
he  has  the  right  to  a  fair  salary.     The  minister  is  paid  for 


432  WORSHIP 

three  distinct  kinds  of  work  —  preaching,  pastoral  care,  and 
conducting  public  worship.  The  organist  is  his  special  assist- 
ant in  discharging  the  latter  function,  and  should  be  paid 
accordingly.  If  the  duties  of  the  organist  were  not  neces- 
sarily so  varied  in  different  churches,  it  might  be  possible  to 
name  some  suitable  ratio  between  the  pastor's  and  the  organ- 
ist's salaries.  Where  the  latter  officiates  at  all  the  regular 
services  of  the  church,  including  the  Sunday-school  and  the 
prayer-meetings,  where  he  conducts  parish  singing-classes 
and  choir  rehearsals,  his  salary  may  be  perhaps  one-sixth  that 
of  the  pastor.  But  where  he  is  unwilling  or  unable  to  fulfill 
all  these  duties,  it  should  be  proportionately  less.  A  church 
that  treats  its  whole  musical  service  as  an  insignificant  part 
of  its  church  activity  may  be  excused  for  paying  for  it  insig- 
nificantly. Yet  it  may  be  queried  whether  any  trained  or 
efficient  organist  should  be  offered  less  than  one-fifteenth  of 
the  pastor's  salary.  Only  an  untrained  leader,  whose  service 
is  obviously  a  make-shift,  should  be  offered  the  pittance  occa- 
sionally thought  sufficient.  Of  course  this .  statement  does 
not  at  all  relate  to  those  cases  in  which  for  any  reason  the 
organist  offers  his  work  wholly  or  in  part  as  a  gratuitous 
contribution.  Whatever  the  salary  fixed,  let  it  be  paid  regu- 
larly. It  should  not  be  paid  indirectly  by  gifts,  by  the 
promise  of  private  pupils,  or  by  the  uncertain  proceeds  of 
concerts,  any  more  than  the  minister's  salary  should  be  made 
up  by  donation-parties  or  irregular  perquisites. 

The  organist,  if  he  be  a  fairly  competent  player,  should 
have  absolute  control  of  the  use  of  the  organ.  It  is  as  dis- 
courteous for  a  society's  committee  to  allow  promiscuous 
playing  upon  the  organ  as  to  allow  promiscuous  occupancy  of 
the  pulpit.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  organist  should  not 
permit  regular  practice  upon  the  organ  without  careful  super- 
vision and  without  the  consent  of  the  society's  committee. 

The  organist,  if  he  be  worthy  of  his  high  calling,  deserves 
the  cordial  assistance  of  the  people  in  all  his  experiments  and 
enterprises.  To  help  him  by  personal  service,  by  indirect 
cooperation,  by  sympathy  and  appreciation,  is  to  display  a 
loyalty  to  the  church  whose  officer  he  is.  Such  support  is 
not  merely  a  personal  courtesy,  but  a  distinct  method  of 


THE    ORGANIST  433 

improving  the  ideals  of  the  musical  work,  and  thus  it  brings 
its  own  immediate  and  rich  reward. 

The  above  study  of  the  duties,  rights,  and  needs  of  the 
church  organist  is  not  offered  without  due  consideration  of 
the  difficulties  of  the  matter.  We  have  drawn  an  ideal 
sketch.  To  realize  all  the  foregoing  ideals  at  once  may  seem 
so  impossible  that  the  suggestion  of  them  is  almost  ridicu- 
lous. Yet  each  of  these  details  has  been  shown  to  be  practi- 
cable by  actual  experience.  The  circumstances  of  each  parish 
must  determine  what  is  there  feasible.  In  many  country 
towns,  for  instance,  the  choice  of  an  organist  is  limited  to 
one  person,  who  may  not  be  really  well  fitted  for  the  work. 
The  number  of  thoroughly  desirable  church  organists  any- 
where is  painfully  small.  In  the  country  there  is  a  lack  of 
skill  and  breadth,  in  the  city  a  worse  lack  of  spirituality. 
The  case,  after  all,  is  not  so  very  uneven  between  the  large 
and  the  small  parishes,  for  the  apparent  advantage  of  the 
former  is  too  often  an  unessential  advantage.  Even  the  most 
humble,  untaught  player  in  a  struggling  hill-town  may  fulfill 
with  distinction  all  the  higher  duties  of  his  office,  serving 
with  noble  fidelity  and  singleness  of  heart  the  spiritual 
interests  of  which  he  is  the  custodian.  The  more  famous 
artist  of  some  metropolitan  church,  with  all  his  opportunities 
and  resources,  is  sadly  in  danger  of  wholly  misinterpreting 
his  calling,  and  thus  of  making  it  a  gigantic  religious 
nuisance,  insidious  in  power  and  utterly  hurtful  in  effect. 

There  is  little  hope  of  the  future  upbuilding  of  a  true  form 
of  church  music  anywhere  without  the  enforcement  of  the 
highest  ideals  upon  those  who  are  charged  with  its  manage- 
ment. May  the  time  soon  come  when  to  be  a  church  organist 
implies  in  part  the  same  responsibility  and  the  same  honor  as 
to  be  a  church  pastor  ! 


28 


V 

INSTRUMENTS    AND   INSTRUMENTAL    MUSIC 

THE  battle  over  the  propriety  of  using  instrumental  music 
in  Christian  worship  is  still  raging  in  a  very  limited 
area.  The  argument  in  favor  of  instruments  has  the  support^ 
of  course,  of  ancient  Hebrew  usage,  for  not  only  were  instru- 
ments used  in  the  Temple,  but  they  are  distinguished  as 
"made  to  give  thanks  unto  the  Lord,"  and  as  "the  instru- 
ments of  God.''  The  titles  of  several  of  the  Psalms  give 
direction  about  the  instrumental  accompaniment  that  was  to 
be  used,  "neginoth"  meaning  "with  stringed  instruments," 
and  "  nehiloth,"  "  with  flutes."  The  mysterious  word  "  selah  " 
is  thought  by  good  authority  to  be  the  sign  for  an  instru- 
mental interlude,  or  at  least  for  a  burst  of  instrumental  sound. 
This  use  of  instruments,  harps,  psalteries,  pipes,  and  timbrels 
persisted  throughout  the  history  of  Israel  in  the  Temple  and 
to  some  extent  in  the  synagogues,  as  well  as  in  private  life. 
In  early  Christian  times,  it  is  true,  the  use  of  instruments 
was  for  a  time  discountenanced  merely  because  all  instruments 
known  at  the  time  were  closely  associated  with  the  immorali- 
ties of  heathenism.  From  about  400  A.  D.,  however,  they 
began  to  re-appear.  In  the  seventh  century  the  organ  in  some 
rudimentary  form  was  established  as  the  church  instrument 
by  Pope  Vitalian.  Other  instruments  have  been  used  freely 
in  sacred  services,  though  the  full  orchestra  has  rarely 
appeared  except  in  connection  with  the  spectacular  ritual  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  In  America  there  has  been  a 
curious  inversion  of  the  historical  order  in  Europe :  instead 
of  organ  first  and  orchestral  instruments  afterward,  here  it 
was  flute  and  bass  viol  first  and  organ  afterward,  as  a  late 
and  (to  some  minds)  dangerous  innovation. 

The  Organ.  The  origin  of  this  majestic  instrument  was  in 
the  pastoral  pipe  and  the  courtly  flute,  but  its  development 
has  been  almost  wholly  due  to  the  demands  of  the  worship  of 
God.    A  history  of  more  than  a  thousand  years  of  constant 

434 


INSTRUMENTS    AND    INSTRUMENTAL    MUSIC      435 

use  in  monastery,  chapel,  and  cathedral  entitles  it  to  the  venera- 
tion of  the  Christian  world ;  while  the  splendor  of  the  sacred 
compositions  that  it  has  called  forth  and  the  offices  of  consola- 
tion and  uplifting  that  it  has  rendered  should  elicit  a  loving 
gratitude.  When  one  climbs  into  the  case  of  some  grand  organ 
to  see  for  the  first  time  its  intricate  and  multifarious  mechan- 
ism, and  realizes  that  that  vast  complex  of  perhaps  as  many 
as  ten  thousand  separate  pieces  has  been  the  gradual  produc- 
tion of  the  mechanical  ingenuity,  the  musical  enterprise,  and 
the  religious  ardor  of  a  whole  millennium,  he  cannot  escape 
the  feeling  that  whatever  musical  voice  can  be  drawn  from 
such  a  consecrated  monument  must  possess  the  accumulated 
eloquence  of  the  ages. 

While  this  historic  quality  in  the  modern  church  organ  is 
rarely  noticed,  only  less  rare  is  the  knowledge  that  the  organ 
is  the  most  complicated  of  musical  instruments.  Every  organist 
encounters  the  notion  that  his  organ  consists  merely  of  a  set 
of  keys  and  stop-knobs,  a  row  of  decorated  pipes,  and  a  bellows 
worked  by  a  handle,  the  whole  standing  in  a  case  of  more  or 
less  elaboration ;  that  the  keys  and  stops  operate  an  involved 
net- work  of  trackers,  sliders,  rollers,  levers,  springs,  and  valves 
ten  times  as  extensive  as  the  action  of  a  grand  piano ;  that  the 
decorated  pipes  are  but  about  half  of  one  set  of  pipes,  while 
there  are  perhaps  fifty  other  sets,  having  from  thirty  to  sixty 
or  even  two  hundred  and  fifty  pipes  each,  thus  makiug  the 
total  number  of  separate  pipes  anywhere  from  five  hundred 
to  three  thousand;  that  these  pipes  vary  in  length,  shape,  and 
material  so  that,  although  each  single  pipe  can  produce  but 
one  tone,  from  all  can  be  drawn  a  strange  variety  of  tones,  to 
be  blended  or  contrasted  at  the  player's  will ;  that  the  bellows 
propels  compressed  air  through  a  system  of  wind-trunks, 
wind-chests,  canals,  valves,  etc.,  that  almost  rivals  the  circula- 
tory system  of  the  human  body, — these  facts  are  but  dimly 
appreciated  by  many  who  recognize  the  supreme  magnificence 
of  the  organ  as  an  instrument. 

The  intricacy  of  the  pipe  organ  makes  the  purchase  of  one 
an  affair  of  some  risk  and  difficulty.  A  hundred  dollars,  with 
reasonable  care,  will  certainly  secure  a  really  good  reed  organ, 
but  a  thousand  dollars  may  or  may  not  secure  a  good  pipe 


436  WORSHIP 

organ.  This  is  so  because  a  reed  organ  is  bought  ready-made, 
while  a  pipe  organ  is  usually  made  to  order.  The  best  pipe- 
organ  makers,  after  they  know  the  sum  to  be  expended,  may 
be  trusted  to  draw  up  their  own  specifications ;  but  churches 
often  pay  sad  penalties  for  patronizing  incompetent  or  unprin- 
cipled firms.  It  would  be  impossible  here  to  show  how  this 
misfortune  may  be  wholly  avoided,  but  a  few  general  hints 
may  be  hazarded. 

First.  The  mechanical  construction,  even  in  a  small  organ, 
should  be  unexceptionable.  The  "  action '' —  the  whole  mechan- 
ism of  keys  and  stop-knobs  —  should  be  strong,  well-seasoned, 
and  nicely  finished,  so  that  every  piece  shall  work  promptly, 
freely,  and  noiselessly.  The  action  is  the  means  whereby  the 
player  handles  the  organ  proper,  and  if  it  is  faulty,  not  the 
greatest  player  in  the  world  can  play  the  organ  well.  The 
blowing  apparatus,  whether  operated  by  hand  or  by  water, 
should  be  ample  enough  easily  to  meet  the  heaviest  chord- 
plajdng,  with  every  stop  drawn.  A  short-winded  organ  is  as 
tantalizing  and  cheap  as  a  horse  with  the  heaves.  The  metal 
and  wood  used  in  the  pipes  should  be  rigorously  kept  to  the 
standards  set  by  first-class  makers.  The  richness  of  tone  of 
metal  pipes  depends  largely  upon  their  percentage  of  tin.  But 
pure  tin  is  expensive,  and  smaU  organs  are  apt  to  be  cheapened 
in  this  particular. 

Second.  The  power  and  variety  of  an  organ  is  indicated  by 
the  number  and  nature  of  its  speaking-stops.  A  speaking- 
stop  always  involves  a  separate  set  of  pipes,  one  for  each  key 
of  the  key-board.  Mechanical  accessories,  like  couplers  and 
the  tremulant,  are  not  speaking-stops,  though  they  often  have 
knobs  like  the  latter.  Such  accessories  are  most  necessary, 
but  they  do  not  constitute  the  organ  proper.  Nothing  is 
more  ridiculous  than  the  common  practice  of  counting  the 
"  bellows-signal "  as  a  "  stop." 

The  speaking-stops  are  classified  either  by  quality  of  tone 
or  by  pitch.  Four  kinds  of  quality  may  be  named :  the  true 
organ  quality,  as  shown  in  the  open  diapason,  octave,  princi- 
pal, mixture,  fifteenth ;  the  flute  quality,  as  in  the  stopped 
diapason,  flutes,  bourdons ;  the  string  quality,  as  in  the  dul- 
ciana,  salicional,  gamba,  violin ;  and  the  reed  quality,  as  in 


INSTRUMENTS    AND    INSTRUMENTAL    MUSIC      437 

the  oboe,  trumpet,  clarinet.  A  good  organ  contains  stops  of 
all  these  qualities  for  each  bank  of  keys,  but  with  a  predomi- 
nance of  the  first  two.  The  organ  quality  is  needed  for 
sonority,  breadth,  stateliness ;  the  flute  quality,  for  smooth 
and  full  sweetness,  approaching  that  of  the  human  voice; 
the  string  quality,  for  a  thin,  incisive  delicacy,  having  great 
distinctness  mth  little  force ;  and  the  reed  quality,  for  pas- 
sionate, sumptuous  effects,  and  for  leadership  in  accompanying 
voices.  Old  organs  are  defective  in  not  distinguishing  sharply 
between  the  different  qualities.  The  ideal  organ  contains 
stops  so  individual  in  quality  as  to  present  great  contrasts, 
and  yet  so  consonant  as  to  blend  perfectly  when  used  together. 
Within  each  class  the  stops  are  further  classified  according 
to  pitch.  Those  which  yield  tones  exactly  corresponding  to 
the  keys  struck  are  called  ^' eight  foot"  stops;  those  sound- 
ing the  next  higher  octave  are  called  '^four  foot"  stops; 
those  sounding  the  second  higher  octave,  ^^two  foot"  stops; 
and  those  sounding  the  next  octave  below,  '^sixteen  foot." 
The  sonority  and  brilliance  of  an  organ  is  due  to  a  skillful 
combination  of  all  these  pitches,  but  the  proportion  must  be 
left  to  the  builder. 

Third.  The  success  of  an  organ  depends  much  upon  the 
place  where  it  is  put.  It  should  not  be  tucked  into  a  narrow 
recess  or  close  under  a  ceiling.  If  it  is  cramped  it  will  emit 
husky  tones,  and  be  constantly  getting  out  of  order  in  incon- 
venient spots.  It  should  be  tenderly  protected  from  damp- 
ness, and  from  excessive  heat  and  cold.  A  large  organ  is 
exceedingly  sensitive  to  changes  of  humidity  or  temperature, 
and  it  should  be  guarded  from  violent  contrasts  as  much  as 
possible.  A  window  above  or  near  it  may  cause  incessant 
derangements.  As  to  the  question  whether  the  organ  should 
be  behind  and  above  the  congregation  or  in  front  of  them 
and  on  the  same  level,  it  is  enough  to  say  that  in  the  latter 
position  congregational  singing  is  more  feasible,  and  the  fan- 
cied separation  of  interests  between  "  the  two  ends  of  the 
church,"  the  minister  and  the  choir,  is  deprived  of  all  outward 
symbol.  The  good  sense  of  our  churches  is  shown  in  the 
growing  custom  of  leading  the  musical  service  as  well  as  the 
verbal  service  from  a  point  in  front  of  the  worshipers. 


438  WORSHIP 

The  Reed  Organ.  This  is  a  convenient  substitute  for  the 
true  church  organ,  when  the  expense  of  the  latter  is  too  great. 
It  has  the  further  advantages  of  portability  and  simplicity. 
It  may  be  examined  before  purchase,  and  so  precisely  adapted 
to  its  work.  It  must  be  confessed  that  it  has  decided  defects. 
Its  tone  at  the  best  is  apt  to  be  thin  and  wheezy,  lacking 
promptness  and  variety.  It  therefore  proves  rather  a  slender 
support  for  the  volume  of  congregational  singing,  while  its 
uncertain  "attack'^  renders  it  nearly  useless  as  a  leading 
instrument.  Except  in  small  buildings,  it  also  fails  of  the 
majesty  of  tone  that  is  indispensable  for  all  solo  use  of  the 
organ. 

This  criticism  may  safely  be  urged  without  detracting  in 
the  least  from  the  peculiar  utility  of  the  reed  organ  in  hun- 
dreds of  country  communities  where  the  pipe  organ  is  out  of 
the  question.* 

The  Piano.  The  percussive  nature  of  the  piano  tone  unfits 
it  for  competing  successfully  with  either  the  pipe  or  the  reed 
organ  as  a  solo  church  instrument.  But  that  same  character- 
istic constitutes  it  the  best  instrument  for  rehearsals  and  for 
all  gatherings  where  a  certain  amount  of  drill  in  singing  is 
expected.  Precision  and  regularity  of  rhythm  may  be  secured 
with  the  piano  as  by  no  other  means.  Wherever  it  can  be 
afforded,  a  piano  in  the  chapel  or  lecture-room  of  the  church 
is  a  useful  part  of  the  musical  equipment. 

The  Cornet.  This  has  been  used  somewhat  as  a  leader 
(with  the  organ)  of  congregational  singing.  Its  utility  lies  in 
reenforcing  the  melody  of  a  tune  without  impairing  the  full- 
ness of  the  harmony.  When  played  accurately  and  smoothly, 
without  the  blare  of  the  military  band,  it  is  quite  effective. 
Berhoz  calls  the  tone  of  the  cornet,  especially  in  rapid  melo- 
dies, "  snapping,  noisy,  bold,"  and  it  must  be  confessed  that, 
except  in  the  hands  of  a  masterly  player,  its  quality  is  not 
entirely  agreeable  or  appropriate  to  the  church.  For  this 
reason  it  is  a  pity  that  we  no  longer  have  the  true  trumpet, 
with  its  long  tube,  unbroken  by  valves,  or  that  we  do  not 

*  Very  striking  experiments  have  lately  been  made  with  a  new  kind 
of  reed  organ,  which  promise  to  eventuate  in  a  very  valuable  church 
instrument. 


INSTRUMENTS    AND    INSTRUMENTAL    MUSIC      439 

imitate  the  fine  old  custom  of  the  Moravians  in  supporting 
congregational  singing  by  a  quartette  of  trombones. 

Instrumental  Music.  The  custom  of  having  organ  preludes 
to  church  services  is  quite  general,  and  rests  upon  the  sound- 
est wisdom.  The  congregation,  composed  of  a  variety  of  per- 
sons, young  and  old,  happy  and  sorrowful,  devout  and  heedless, 
has  gathered  to  engage  in  a  common  act  of  worship.  Their 
thoughts,  desires,  moods,  are  heterogeneous  to  the  last  degree. 
Before  they  can  unite  in  exercises  of  verbal  worship,  they  need 
to  be  solemnized,  softened,  made  sympathetic  with  each  other, 
by  some  influence  unique  and  irresistible.  This  process  is 
begun  by  the  associations  of  Sunday  itself.  It  is  carried  for- 
ward by  whatever  of  sacred  design  there  may  be  in  the  church 
edifice,  and  by  the  reverent  bearing  of  the  more  thoughtful 
worshipers.  But  it  may  receive  its  most  powerful  stimulus 
from  the  organist^s  prelude.  That  prelude  should  be  selected 
and  performed  with  but  one  purpose,  so  to  capture  the  atten- 
tion and  the  emotion  of  every  worshiper  by  its  beauty,  its 
solemnity,  its  grandeur,  that  at  its  close  the  organist  may  hand 
over  the  assembly  to  the  minister  in  a  united,  tender,  and 
uplifted  mood,  eager  for  the  utterance  of  verbal  prayer  and 
praise,  or  for  the  reception  of  instruction.  For  the  attainment 
of  this  ideal,  the  organist  must  be  thrilled  with  an  earnest 
ambition,  and  the  people  must  yield  themselves  habitually  to 
his  influence.  Time  enough  should  be  allotted  to  the  prelude 
to  give  it  a  secure  hold  upon  the  congregation's  mood.  The 
people  should  be  encouraged  to  come  early  enough  to  be 
quietly  seated  before  it  begins.  The  minister  should  be  in 
his  place,  setting  an  example  of  attention,  and  prepared  to 
take  up  the  verbal  service  with  energy  and  dignity.  The 
service  should  always  be  said  to  begin  with  the  prelude,  for 
if  the  prelude  be  not  a  part  of  the  service,  it  ought  to  be 
omitted  altogether. 

At  many  points  in  the  service  where,  in  turning  from  one 
kind  of  exercise  to  another,  the  attention  and  fervor  of  the 
congregation  are  in  danger  of  being  diverted  and  dissipated, 
brief  organ  responses  or  interludes  may  be  introduced  with 
happy  results.     The  unique  utility  of  such  interludes  is  only 


440  WORSHIP 

just  beginning  to  be  appreciated  by  our  churches.  Of  course, 
however,  they  cannot  be  suitable  unless  they  are  fitted  with 
the  utmost  delicacy  to  what  precedes  and  follows  them. 

After  the  benediction  a  noisy  postlude  is  commonly  played. 
The  reasonableness  of  the  custom  may  well  be  questioned. 
Such  a  postlude  is  only  a  show-piece,  exhibiting  the  resoui'ces 
of  the  organ  and  the  dexterity  of  the  player;  it  is,  indeed, 
"  only  a  gaudy  kite,  dangling  in  the  topmost  branches  of  the 
service."  The  custom  is  not  defended  upon  any  serious 
ground,  and  is  receiving  more  and  more  condemnation.  The 
only  kind  of  a  postlude  that  is  admissible  is  a  quiet  meditation 
or  commentary  upon  the  service,  its  character  being  deter- 
mined by  the  prevailing  tone  of  the  latter.  In  opposition  to 
this  idea  it  may  fairly  be  urged  that  if  the  congregation 
springs  to  its  feet  and  starts  as  one  man  for  the  door  at  the 
last  word  of  the  benediction,  it  is  hardly  in  a  way  to  be  im- 
pressed by  a  musical  summary  of  the  foregoing  service.  But 
this  does  not  alter  the  devout  organist's  duty.  He  is  to  pro- 
ceed according  to  the  proprieties  of  the  situation,  patiently 
awaiting  that  happy  time  when  congregations  shall  have 
leisure  and  reverence  enough  to  spend  a  few  moments  in 
silent  prayer  or  in  simple  meditation  before  passing  out  into 
the  secular  world.  The  congregation  of  at  least  one  church 
in  the  country  is  said  to  remain  unbroken  until  after  the 
organist's  postlude  is  concluded. 

Whatever  detailed  habits  may  prevail  in  different  places, 
too  much  emphasis  cannot  be  laid  upon  the  spiritual  utility 
of  pure  organ  music.  If  such  music  be  performed  and  received 
without  spiritual  intent,  it  will  certainly  prove  harmful  in 
every  direction.  But  if  it  be  offered  and  accepted  as  a  true 
musical  sermon,  less  intellectual,  but  perhaps  more  intensely 
emotional  than  the  average  verbal  sermon,  it  will  be  of  ines- 
timable value.  One  is  constrained  to  appeal  by  every  entreaty 
to  the  honor,  the  good  sense,  the  earnest  spirit  of  organists 
and  of  congregations  everywhere  to  join  in  elevating  this 
branch  of  music  to  its  true  dignity  and  power. 


VI 

CONGREGATIONAL    SINGING 

THE  good  old  word  '^  liturgical "  has  had  a  queer  history. 
It  comes  from  two  Greek  words  signifying  ''  belonging 
to  the  people,"  and  ^'work/'  or  "act";  and  its  early  applica- 
tion was  to  something  ''  performed  by  the  people/'  i.  e.,  by 
the  congregation.  In  apostolic  times,  when  the  term  first 
entered  the  Christian  vocabulary,  every  exercise  of  public 
worship  was  liturgical,  for  each  was  regarded  as  the  common 
act  of  the  worshiping  assembh\  In  the  usage  of  to-day,  how- 
ever, the  word  is  popularly  supposed  always  to  refer  to  a  pre- 
scribed and  invariable  liturgy,  though  more  careful  writers 
still  apply  it  to  every  act  of  public  worship,  whether  premedi- 
tated or  extempore,  even  if  performed  by  an  individual. 

The  functions  of  the  congregation,  as  distinguished  from 
the  officiating  priest  or  minister,  have  been  different  under 
different  ecclesiastical  systems.  In  the  Old  Testament,  the 
people  form  a  very  distinct  class  from  the  priests  and  Levites. 
The  latter  classes  were  the  active  agents  in  public  worship, 
offering  sacrifices,  singing  praise,  preferring  petitions  on 
behalf  of  the  people.  The  people  pro\dded  the  material  for 
sacrifice  and  were  usually  present  to  witness  more  important 
rites,  but  their  direct  participation  in  public  worship  w^as  lim- 
ited. Even  if  we  admit  that  this  fact  was  partly  due  to  the 
low  average  of  popular  knowledge  and  to  the  lack  of  printed 
books,  we  discover  that  it  was  also  due  to  the  inferior  position 
of  the  congregation.  In  later  Jewish  history  the  activity  of 
the  people  increased,  particularly  when  the  synagogues  became 
the  habitual  gathering-place  of  worshipers.  In  the  synagogue, 
the  parent  of  the  Christian  church,  there  was  neither  priest 
nor  sacrifice,  but  all  the  worshipers  entered  together  and 
equally  into  the  acts  of  prayer  and  praise.  In  apostolic  times 
this  united,  direct  activity  of  the  assembly  continued,  and  it 
was  greatly  extended  in  the  two  or  three  following  centuries. 
Before  the  fifth  century,  however,  the  hierarchical  tendencies 
of  the  church  began  to  be  very  marked,  so  that  from  the  time 

441 


442  WORSHIP 

of  G-regory  the  Great  (about  600)  the  exercises  of  public  wor- 
ship were  almost  entirely  transferred  from  the  congregation 
at  large  to  the  priests  and  their  regular  assistants.  This 
restriction  became  steadily  more  noticeable  throughout  the 
middle  ages  until  the  beginning  of  the  Reformation  era,  say 
about  1500.  One  of  the  first  efforts  of  Luther  was  to  restore 
not  only  the  doctrines  of  justification  by  faith  and  of  the 
priesthood  of  the  individual  believer,  and  the  right  to  the 
Scriptures  in  the  vulgar  tongue,  but  the  privilege  of  popular 
participation  in  public  worship.  So  important  did  he  regard 
this  latter  point  that  one  of  his  first  acts,  long  before  he  had 
asserted  his  doctrinal  position  in  its  final  form,  and  long 
before  he  had  published  his  translation  of  the  Bible,  was  to 
arrange  and  issue  an  order  of  service,  in  the  whole  of  which, 
excepting  the  Scripture  lessons  and  the  sermon,  the  entire 
congregation  was  to  engage.  This  congregational  method  of 
worship  was  not  a  matter  of  taste,  but  a  direct  fruit  of  the 
spirit  of  Reformation ;  and  consequently  it  was  quickly 
adopted  wherever  the  Reformation  spread,  becoming  one  of 
the  badges  of  both  Lutherans  and  Calvinists.  Before  1600 
it  had  become  the  fixed  habit  of  Protestants  in  Germany, 
France,  England,  and  the  Low  Countries.  In  1620  it  was 
imported  to  America.  Its  persistence  as  a  distinctively  Prot- 
estant custom  has  varied  somewhat  with  circumstances,  but 
it  has  never  been  given  up.  The  Church  of  England  liturgy 
is  emphatically  a  congregational  form  of  worship,  as  indeed 
are  all  Protestant  liturgies.  The  depth  to  which  the  idea  of 
congregational  worship  has  penetrated  is  indicated  by  the 
fact  that  every  time  of  spiritual  awakening  witnesses  a 
marked  increase  in  the  fervor  of  all  congregational  exercises 
of  worship.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church  is  on  principle 
opposed  to  much  congregational  worship,  and  has  never 
encouraged  it  except  when  forced  to  do  so  by  the  pressure  of 
Protestant  competition. 

This  brief  historical  survey  leads  irresistibly  to  one  or  two 
important  practical  conclusions.  If  congregational  habits  of 
public  worship  are  radically  and  peculiarly  Protestant,  such 
habits  should  be  diligently  fostered  and  built  up  wherever  the 
Protestant  Church  goes.  Where  such  habits  have  been 
neglected,  they  should  be  restored.    Where  they  exist,  they 


CONGREGATIONAL    SINGING  443 

should  be  extended  and  improved.  Their  maintenan(3e  may 
be  urged  primarily  as  a  Protestant  duty,  but  assuredly  also  as 
a  heritage  from  a  glorious  past  and  as  a  privilege  of  no  small 
moment. 

The  force  of  this  argument  has  been  strongly  felt  in  Ameri- 
can unepiscopal  churches  during  the  last  few  years.  They 
have  begun  to  see  that  in  their  protest  against  the  Episcopacy 
of  the  eighteenth  century  they  went  to  an  extreme  in  many 
matters  not  involved  in  the  original  revolt.  They  have  not 
only  fallen  into  bald  and  irregular  habits  of  worship,  depend- 
ent upon  the  caprice  of  officiating  ministers,  but  in  their  exal- 
tation of  the  teaching  office  of  the  pulpit  they  have  almost 
forgotten  the  worshiping  office  of  the  pew.  Accordingly, 
throughout  the  land  arises  a  cry  for  the  enrichment  of  public 
worship,  especially  in  the  direction  of  congregational  participa- 
tion. Hence  come  the  growing  use  of  responsive  reading,  of 
formula?  of  prayer  and  confession,  in  which  all  the  people  may 
join,  and  of  congregational  hymn-singing. 

Surely,  if  we  are  minded  to  imitate  the  practices  of  the  early 
Reformation  time,  there  is  no  item  that  would  be  more  attract- 
ive and  valuable  than  the  united  singing  of  hymns  and  psalms. 
In  those  days,  as  in  the  Wesley  an  movement  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  thousands  were  converted  simply  through  the  agency 
of  song.  To  be  a  fervent  Protestant  then,  as  in  the  age  of 
Elizabeth  in  England,  or  in  the  early  New  England  period, 
was  to  be  a  singer.  The  multiplication  in  Germany  of  hymns 
and  tunes  for  congregational  use  during  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries  was  almost  incredibly  rapid.  Many  of  our 
most  stalwart  and  inspiring  church  lyiics  were  composed  in  the 
glow  of  such  critical  epochs  as  that  of  the  Reformation  or  of  the 
minor  awakenings  of  English  Christianity.  Wherever  to-day 
any  special  evangelical  fervor  appears,  there  enthusiastic  hymn- 
singing  inevitably  breaks  forth.  So  far  as  data  may  be  secured, 
we  find  that  pastors  are  practically  a  unit  in  desii'ing  the  cus- 
tom of  congregational  song.  Every  church  that  has  enjoyed 
it  in  any  respectable  form  is  warmly  attached  to  it  as  a 
means  of  edification.  Even  the  current  of  thoughtless  opinion 
seems  to  have  set  in  its  favor  more  than  twenty-five  years  ago. 
In  view  of  these  facts,  why  is  it  that  congregational  singing  is 
not  more  universally  attempted  and  more  uniformly  successful? 


444  WORSHIP 

First.  It  is  not  always  remembered  that  congregational  sing- 
ing is  emphatically  an  expressive  form  of  music.  Its  purpose 
is  not  to  affect  the  auditor,  but  to  utter  the  emotions  and 
thoughts  of  the  singer.  It  neither  aspires  to  artistic  perfec- 
tion nor  offers  itself  to  artistic  criticism.  Its  whole  nature  is 
not  objective,  but  subjective.  Philosophically  considered,  it  is 
quite  the  opposite  of  choral  oratorio  music.  Its  best  success 
depends  primarily  upon  its  universality,  and  its  fervor  through- 
out the  given  assembly.  These  qualities  are  mightily  enhanced, 
no  doubt,  by  artistic  excellence,  both  in  music  and  in  perform- 
ance, but  such  excellence  is  a  secondary  consideration. 

Professional  musicians  are  apt  to  speak  Hghtly  of  congre- 
gational singing  as  ^^ unbearable,"  or  ^^unmanageable,"  or 
"  chimerical."  But,  do  they  not  view  it  from  an  unfair  stand- 
point? And  even  from  that  stand-point,  may  not  its  harsh 
and  trying  characteristics  be  mollified  by  patient,  tactful 
effort  that,  while  its  expressive  value  is  preserved,  its  tech- 
nical excellence  may  be  gradually  improved?  To  this  we 
shall  return  in  a  moment. 

Second,  It  is  not  always  remembered  that  since  congrega- 
tional singing  is  essentially  expressive,  it  can  flourish  only 
where  there  is  a  congregational  spirituality  that  craves  ex- 
pression. If  it  is  true  that  such  singing  requires  a  congrega- 
tion at  least  large  enough  to  deserve  the  name,  it  is  still  more 
true  that  it  requires  a  worshipful  congregation.  When  one 
enters  some  city  church  where  half  the  attendants  are  either 
not  professing  Christians  or  casual  visitors,  he  sees  at  once 
why  congregational  singing  has  languished  into  a  laughing- 
stock. If  he  turns  to  another  church  where,  through  the 
minister's  coldness  or  some  parish  dissension,  the  general 
spiritual  tone  is  low,  he  feels  at  once  the  impossibility  there  of 
any  form  of  enthusiastic  emotional  utterance.  But  if  he  visits 
some  live,  working  church  or  some  evangelist's  tent,  he  finds 
that  there  united  singing  is  not  only  easily  secured  but 
inevitable.  The  difference  is  wholly  in  the  temper  of  the 
assemblies. 

Third.  Congregational  singing  will  not  flourish  without 
encouragement  from  the  pastor  and  the  church  musicians, 
and  without  effort  from  the  individual  members  of  the  con- 


CONGREGATIONAL    SINGING  445 

gregation  itself.  It  will  not  run  itself,  nor  advance  without 
guidance,  nor  attain  its  full  stature  until  every  regular  wor- 
shiper feels  a  personal  responsibility  about  it. 

What  can  the  pastor  do !  He  can  be  so  earnest  in  his  gen- 
eral work  that  his  people  shall  be  religiously  active  and  warm. 
He  can  preach  upon  joy  and  gratitude  and  the  utterance  of 
joy  and  gratitude  as  important  elements  in  a  true  religious 
experience.  He  can  explain  the  value  and  dignity  of  congre- 
gational singing  historically,  theoretically,  and  actually.  He 
can  personally  supervise  and  countenance  whatever  efforts  are 
made  for  technical  improvement.  He  can  so  arrange  the 
details  of  actual  services  that  the  hymns  shall  be  suitable  and 
attractive  for  congregational  rendering. 

What  can  the  organist  and  the  choir  do  ?  They  can  assume 
the  responsibility  for  the  technical  excellence  of  the  singing. 
They  can  actively  acknowledge  the  central  position  of  congre- 
gational music  in  the  Protestant  musical  system,  realizing 
that  without  such  music  all  other  music  is  out  of  relation  and 
apt  to  become  mischievous.  The  organist  can  endeavor, 
under  the  general  direction  of  the  pastor,  to  build  up  the 
technical  proficiency  of  the  young  people  by  drill  in  the  Sun- 
day-school, by  special  classes  in  sight-reading  and  part-singing, 
and  by  a  study  of  playing  for  popular  singing.  The  sing- 
ers may  throw  themselves  into  the  hymn-singing  with  such 
heartiness  that  the  contagion  of  their  enthusiasm  may  permeate 
the  entire  assembly. 

What  can  the  people  do  !  They  can  regard  the  singing  as 
a  personal  duty  and  privilege.  They  can  conscientiously 
endeavor  to  adopt  the  words  of  the  hymns  as  their  own 
private  utterance,  and  to  engage  in  the  singing  of  those  words 
with  the  utmost  precision  and  technical  finish  of  which  they 
are  capable.  They  can  keep  themselves  alert  to  see  where 
their  individual  performance  may  be  altered  so  as  to  better 
the  general  effect.  They  can  be  ambitious  to  extend  their 
facilities  by  the  study  of  new  tunes.  They  can  make  it  a 
church  duty  to  attend  any  classes  for  singing  that  the  pastor 
or  the  organist  may  establish,  so  as  to  gain  in  their  own  vocal 
readiness  and  also  to  lend  the  aid  of  their  presence  in  sustain- 
ing such  efforts.     They  can  help  along  the  cause  of  congrega- 


446  WORSHIP 

tional  music  everywhere  by  cultivating  an  enthusiasm  for  it 
and  by  strictly  repressing  captious  criticism  of  it.  They  can 
insist  that  their  musical  representatives  and  leaders  shall  pay 
due  respect  to  this  department  of  the  parish  music. 

Before  the  habit  of  congregational  singing  can  be  accepted 
as  it  deserves,  there  must  be  a  wider  popular  interest  in  sing- 
ing. The  extending  practice  of  teaching  singing  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  should  therefore  receive  the  heartiest  support  of 
Christian  people;  for  such  teaching  implants  musical  taste 
and  skill  where  they  will  bear  the  most  abundant  fruit. 
Another  invaluable  agency  is  the  choral  society  or  club,  in 
which  music  of  a  high  order  is  studied.  It  might  be  argued 
with  force  that  the  formation  and  support  of  such  societies  is 
usually  a  fruitful  church  investment  in  more  than  one  way. 
Great  emphasis  should  be  laid  upon  a  wider  popular  ability 
to  read  vocal  music  at  sight.  Music,  as  a  language,  stands  a 
slender  chance  of  adequate  use  so  long  as  her  words  and  sen- 
tences have  to  be  laboriously  spelled  out  with  the  help  of  a 
piano,  or  caught,  parrot-fashion,  from  the  voice  of  a  teacher. 
Every  encouragement  is  due  to  any  reasonable  system  of 
teaching  singers  to  read  promptly  and  accurately  by  note. 
The  achievements  of  the  Tonic  Sol-Fa  system  in  England  in 
this  particular  deserve  the  highest  praise ;  and  our  churches 
may  well  be  grateful  if  similar  results  can  be  produced 
here. 

Much  of  the  practical  success  of  congregational  music 
depends  upon  the  hymn-book  used.  We  shall  treat  the  gen- 
eral subject  of  hymn-books  in  a  separate  chapter.  We  may 
content  ourselves  now  with  expressing  the  hope  that  some  way 
may  be  found  of  so  diminishing  the  size  and  costliness  of 
books  that  every  church  can  procure  copies  enough  for  all 
the  congregation.  It  is  to  be  hoped  also  that  editors  may 
exercise  more  and  more  care  about  the  selection  of  tunes  and 
about  the  fitting  of  tunes  to  particular  hymns.  Every  book 
in  common  use  contains  a  large  proportion  of  waste  material. 
In  using  any  fairly  good  hymn-book  there  is  great  gain  in 
making  the  range  of  selection  of  tunes  progressive  from  year 
to  year.  Much  is  said  of  the  importance  or  the  necessity  of 
limiting  congregational  singing  to  the  "old  tunes."    There  is 


CONGREGATIONAL    SINGING  447 

evident  force  in  the  argument,  but  it  is  often,  pushed  to  an 
extreme.  Indolence  and  cowardice  are  not  seldom  the  real 
reasons  for  contenting  one's  self  with  some  twenty-five  stand- 
ard tunes.  When  such  a  broad,  attractive,  and  fruitful  field 
for  progress  is  open  as  that  provided  by  the  English  tunes  of 
the  last  twenty  years,  it  is  a  pity  not  to  take  advantage  of  the 
stimulus  that  its  conquest  would  undoubtedly  afford. 

In  order  to  make  progress  systematic,  the  pastor  or  organist 
should  keep  a  record  of  tunes  sung,  and,  within  reasonable 
bounds,  should  strive  to  maintain  a  steady  movement  away 
from  the  more  trivial  toward  the  more  stately  tunes.  The 
repertoire  of  an  average  congregation  should  surely  be  not  less 
than  a  hundred  tunes. 

It  is  a  disputed  question  whether  any  attempts  at  congrega- 
tional chanting  should  be  made.  The  devotional  utility  of 
chanting  is  undisputed,  but  the  practical  difficulty  of  securing 
satisfactory  renderings  from  a  miscellaneous  assembly  of  sing- 
ers is  immense.  It  must  be  confessed  that  most  congregations 
are  without  the  vocal  experience  and  the  training  in  united 
performance  that  are  indispensable.  The  current  theories  of 
chanting  are  open  to  grave  objections.  Until  a  live  opposition 
exists  against  a  hurried,  manneristic  style  of  treating  the 
words,  because  it  is  thought  to  be  English,  substantial  prog- 
ress in  this  direction  is  doubtful.  The  fact  remains,  however, 
that  the  congregational  chanting  that  may  be  heard  in  many 
a  village  church  in  England,  in  Dr.  AUon's  church  in  London, 
and  in  some  Swedenborgian  churches  in  America,  is  something 
to  be  emulated  and  pursued  wherever  its  attainment  is  at  aU 
possible. 

Congregational  singing  is  the  most  practicable  as  well  as  the 
most  important  department  of  church  music.  Its  glories  are 
within  the  reach  of  every  active  parish.  Its  restoration  as  a 
universal  custom  is  certain,  and  its  supremacy  among  the  forms 
of  church  music  is  only  a  question  of  spirituality  in  Christian 
work.  Its  establishment  involves  no  risk  or  undue  expense, 
and  its  success  can  bring  with  it  no  dangers.  On  the  contrary, 
its  maintenance  is  almost  of  necessity  a  distinct  and  powerful 
spur  to  the  religious  life  of  the  parish,  refreshing,  cheering, 
and  edifying  all  who  come  within  its  influence. 


YII 
THE    CHOIR 

PERHAPS  one  who  has  read  our  argument  in  favor  of 
congregational  singing,  regarded  as  the  distinctive  and 
central  feature  of  the  Protestant  musical  system,  may  wonder 
what  we  are  to  do  with  the  choir.  Is  the  choir  idea  all  a  mis- 
take? Have  we,  in  order  to  be  consistent,  to  revolutionize 
our  long-established  customs  ?  Fortunately,  any  such  revolu- 
tion, which  is  obviously  impracticable,  is  not  in  the  least  called 
for  by  our  line  of  thought.  The  choir  is  an  institution  which 
the  Protestant  Church  cannot  afford  to  lose,  although  she 
may  construe  its  duties  somewhat  differently  from  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church.  Its  duties  may  be  fully  correlated  with  the 
supremacy  of  the  congregation,  so  that  the  integrity  of  the 
Protestant  musical  system  shall  not  be  impaired.  Its  utility 
as  a  part  of  the  apparatus  of  public  worship  may  be  amply 
Justified,  so  that  its  position  shall  be  one  of  honor  and  influ- 
ence. Indeed,  the  deeper  we  penetrate  into  the  philosophy  of 
church  music,  the  more  evident  it  is  that  the  ideal  balance  of 
agencies  demands  both  congregational  and  choir  music,  even 
though  it  be  necessary  to  insist  upon  the  former  as  an  ante- 
cedent of  the  latter. 

We  shaU  proceed  upon  the  thought  that  real  progress  with 
the  questions  that  arise  concerning  the  choir  may  be  expected 
more  from  a  discussion  of  the  purposes  of  the  choir  as  an 
institution  than  of  the  precise  form  of  the  choir.  Much 
energy  has  undoubtedly  been  wasted  upon  comparatively 
useless  comparisons  between  the  quartette  and  the  chorus,  or 
between  paid  and  volunteer  choirs.  If  some  of  the  same 
energy  were  put  upon  a  study  of  the  ideals  that  should  govern 
the  management  of  choirs,  however  constituted,  most  of  the 
worst  puzzles  in  the  field  would  become  insignificant.  Here, 
as  elsewhere  in  church  work,  too  much  importance  is  often 
attached  to  the  exact  form  of  machinery  used,  and  too  little 
to  the  personal  and  spiritual  elements.     Consequently,  we  find 

448 


THE    CHOIR  449 

strong  partisans  for  the  quartette  plan,  or  for  the  chorus 
plan,  with  much  wholesale  condemnation  of  the  tactlessness 
of  leaders  and  the  incompetence  of  singers,  and  with  not  a 
little  sensitiveness  in  some  quarters  about  the  whole  subject, 
as  if  it  were  inherently  dangerous;  while  neither  ministers 
nor  musicians  nor  congregations  think  of  framing  or  adopt- 
ing any  well-considered  notion  of  what  choirs  are  for  or  what 
choir  music  has  shown  itself  able  to  do. 

In  some  cases,  however,  inadequate  or  false  theories  of  the 
choir  appear.  In  many  churches  it  is  maintained  upon  merely 
traditionary  gi'ounds,  the  custom  of  the  last  three  or  four  gener- 
ations commanding  assent  for  its  own  sake.  In  some  churches 
it  is  said  that  larger  or  choicer  audiences,  or  more  adequate 
lists  of  pew-rents,  or  more  prestige  among  the  churches  of  the 
neighborhood  can  be  secured  by  having  a  choir  that  shall  com- 
mand public  notice  and  fame  ;  that  is,  the  choir  is  thought  to 
be  a  good  investment  for  the  prosperity  of  the  church  as  a 
business  enterprise.  In  a  few  instances  this  unworthy  theory 
is  pushed  to  an  offensive  extreme,  and  the  consequence  has 
been  often  a  reaction  which,  in  its  turn,  has  ended  in  narrow 
or  indefensible  theories.  In  the  midst  of  the  contests  between 
the  advocates  and  the  opponents  of  choirs,  with  all  their  vary- 
ing views,  a  large  but  silent  party  always  exists  that  feels, 
more  or  less  definitely,  that  choir  music  somehow  has  a 
mission  both  valuable  and  unique. 

The  substance  of  the  best  thought  of  this  middle  party 
may  be  summarized  as  follows.  The  choir,  as  a  piece  of 
the  mechanism  of  Protestant  worship,  must  be  treated  as  a 
segment  of  the  general  congregation,  having  special  fimc- 
tions.  Its  relation  to  the  congregation  is  closely  analogous 
to  that  of  the  minister  himself.  AVhile  the  Roman  Catholic 
priest  is  set  over  his  parish  by  the  Church,  as  represented 
in  the  bishop,  the  Protestant  minister  is  actually  or  virtu- 
ally the  choice  of  the  particular  congregation.  He  is  respon- 
sible to  his  people  as  the  representatives  in  a  given  com- 
munity of  the  Church  Universal.  Before  he  can  be  thus 
chosen  he  must  have  had  some  professional  training,  from 
which,  as  well  as  from  the  fact  of  the  choice  itself,  he  pos- 
29 


450  WORSHIP 

sesses  also  a  right  to  receive  deference  as  a  di\dnely  consti- 
tuted teacher.  In  short,  the  minister's  commission  as  pastor 
emanates  from  the  congregation,  although  his  commission  as 
preacher  emanates  from  Christ.  When  he  undertakes  the  man- 
agement of  public  worship,  his  two  offices,  although  blended, 
can  still  be  distinguished.  In  preaching  and  in  expound- 
ing the  Bible,  the  office  of  herald  is  much  more  prominent ; 
but  in  conducting  all  other  exercises,  the  office  of  minister,  in 
ihe  strict  sense,  steps  forth  into  view.  In  his  latter  capacity  the 
minister  acts  in  one  of  three  ways, —  either  (1)  as  leader  or  cap- 
tain of  the  congregation  in  exercises  that  it  cannot  perform  itself 
directly,  since  a  large  assembly  cannot  easily  engage  in  united 
exercises  without  looking  to  some  one  person  as  guide ;  or  (2), 
as  deputy  of  the  congregation  in  exercises  that  it  must  or  will 
perform  vicariously,  since  some  forms  of  worship  are  neither 
possible  nor  expedient  for  a  large  assembly ;  or  (3),  as  model 
and  incentive  to  the  congregation,  both  in  the  manner  and 
in  the  spirit  of  worship.  The  customary  arrangement  of 
our  church  services  doubtless  has  suffered  the  second  of  these 
three  functions  to  overshadow  the  first,  while  the  third  is 
but  spasmodically  remembered,  though  appreciation  of  their 
importance  and  relations  is  increasing. 

If,  now,  we  carry  out  the  analogy  between  the  duties  of  the 
minister  and  those  of  the  choir,  we  note  that  the  choir  should 
be  (1)  a  leader  and  guide  to  all  congregational  music ;  (2)  a 
substitute  for  the  congregation  in  such  musical  utteran(?es  as 
the  people  would  offer  if  they  could ;  and  (3)  a  stimulus  to 
the  people  to  devoutness  in  worship.  Furthermore,  as  the 
minister  is  also  herald  or  teacher,  so  the  choir  should  also 
strive  to  convey  spiritual  instruction  through  the  medium 
of  song.  In  short,  while  the  choir  should  assist  both  directly 
and  representatively  in  expressive  music,  it  should  also  apply 
the  undoubted  impressive  powers  of  music ;  thus  contributing 
to  each  of  the  three  purposes  of  public  worship  already  named. 

Before  passing  to  the  details  of  choir  music,  we  must  turn 
for  a  moment  to  consider  the  personnel  of  the  choir.  Whether 
the  above  statement  of  the  functions  of  the  choir,  as  an 
analogue  in  the  Protestant  system  of  the  minister,  be  fully 
accepted  or  not,  the  fact  remains  that,  in  some  way,  the  mem- 


THE   CHOIR  451 

bers  of  the  clioir  have  a  responsible  share  in  the  economy  of 
public  worship,  acting  either  to  utter  or  to  induce  a  wor- 
shipful frame  of  mind.  Here  again,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
organist,  the  inference  is  unavoidable  that  their  duties  cannot 
be  properly  performed  unless  they  are  participants  in  the 
worship  themselves.  On  the  side  of  expressive  music,  even 
if  offered  vicariously  by  the  choir  on  behalf  of  the  people, 
we  are  taught  that  God  is  to  be  worshiped  "  in  sj>irit  and  in 
truth."  On  the  side  of  impressive  music,  we  may  well  quote 
from  Paul's  counsel  to  Timothy:  "Be  thou  an  ensample  to 
them  that  believe,  in  word,  in  manner  of  life,  in  love,  in  faith, 
in  purity,  .  .  .  for  in  doing  this  thou  shalt  save  both 
thyself  and  them  that  hear  thee."  Nothing  short  of  a  general 
conviction,  systematically  followed,  that  the  musical  elements 
of  public  worship  can  be  properly  offered  only  by  devout 
musicians,  wiU  place  church  music  beyond  the  liability  to 
grave  complications  and  a  sad  desecration  of  God's  house. 

The  precise  form  of  the  choir  is  of  comparatively  little 
importance  if  its  fundamental  purpose  and  temper  be  right. 
Perhaps  the  opinion  may  be  hazarded  that  for  the  mere  lead- 
ership of  congregational  singing  a  precentor  or  a  chorus  is 
best;  that  for  \dcarious  praise  a  chorus  most  nearly  resem- 
bles the  assembly  which  it  represents ;  and  that  for  strictly 
impressive  music  a  highly  trained  soloist  or  quartette  is  the 
most  effective.  The  peculiarly  American  custom  of  a  quartette 
which  is  expected  to  perform  all  the  music  of  the  church  is 
fortunately  passing  away.  It  grew  up  in  a  period  of  low 
musical  cultivation  among  the  people,  and  of  comparative 
heedlessness  to  the  just  management  of  pubHc  worship. 
All  its  advantages,  without  its  limitations  and  dangers,  may 
be  secured  through  a  chorus  containing  two  or  more  solo 
singers.  According  to  the  views  just  expressed,  this  is  the 
ideal  form  of  the  choir,  and  it  is  the  form  universally  aimed 
at  in  the  churches  of  England  and  Germany. 

With  every  form  of  choir  there  are  difficulties  to  be  sur- 
mounted. In  the  first  selection  it  is  imperative  that  as  many 
as  possible  of  the  singers  shall  come  from  the  congregation 
itself.  In  any  case,  the  singers  should  be  made  to  feel  that 
the  choii'  is  but  a  specialized  division  of  the  congregation. 


452  WORSHIP 

Their  responsibility  as  controlling  agents  in  tlie  worship 
should  be  deeply  felt  by  them.  Whether  they  are  paid  for 
their  service  or  not,  they  should  count  attendance  at  rehearsals 
and  strict  attention  to  the  leader  or  organist  a  religions  duty. 
They  should  endeavor  to  sink  personal  ambitions  and  desires, 
and  to  devote  themselves  with  singleness  of  heart  to  the 
attainment  of  the  solemn  devotional  purposes  of  a  choir. 
Whatever  they  do  should  be  done  "in  the  name  of  the  Lord." 
Like  the  singers  of  the  Temple,  who  sung  "  with  gladness  and 
bowed  their  heads  and  worshiped,"  they  should  be  specially 
consecrated,  enthusiastic,  and  reverent;  and  their  calling 
should  be  an  honorable  one  "  in  the  sight  of  all  men." 

Choir  music,  as  an  element  of  public  worship,  supplies  a 
real  want.  It  must  be  granted  that  congregational  music, 
with  all  its  value,  has  grave  limitations.  Only  very  simple 
musical  forms  are  feasible  for  congregational  rendering. 
Even  the  noblest  of  our  tunes  do  not  begin  to  exhaust  the 
expressive  capacities  of  sacred  music,  and  they  are,  perforce, 
arranged  only  for  metrical  texts.  The  first  lack  in  public 
worship  that  a  choir  may  supply,  then,  is  of  such  anthem  or 
chant  settings  of  metrical  and  especially  of  unmetrical  texts 
as  would  be  entirely  unpracticable  for  the  congregation  as  a 
whole,  and  yet  such  as  they  might  properly  wish  to  use  as  a 
collective  utterance  if  they  had  the  technical  ability.  The 
"  Gloria  in  excelsis  "  and  the  "  Te  Deum  "  are  striking  exam- 
ples of  this  class  of  texts. 

The  second  lack  that  choir  music  may  supply  is  of  such 
vocal  music  as  shaU  induce  and  foster  in  the  congregation, 
however  composed,  a  deeper  and  more  intelligent  spirit  of 
worship.  Under  the  ministry  of  such  impressive  music,  when 
fully  fitted  to  its  place  and  reenforced  by  the  personal  power 
of  consecrated  singers,  a  vast  assembly  may  be  touched  and 
sobered  as  by  the  sound  of  an  angel's  voice.  The  fervor  of 
expressive  worship  probably  cannot  rise  above  the  point 
where  there  still  is  room  for  the  added  refinement  and  exalta- 
tion of  such  impressive  music.  In  the  face  of  the  critical, 
materialistic  spirit  of  the  age,  even  at  the  risk  of  being  called 
sentimental,   our  churches  would  do  well  to  seek  a  more 


THE    CHOIR  453 

habitual  warmth  of  mood  in  public  worship.  One  of  the  sur- 
est means  of  fostering  such  a  mood  is  through  suitable  choir 
music.  The  service  as  a  whole  maybe  ushered  in  by  a  musical 
call  to  worship^  growing  directly  out  of  the  organ  prelude.  The 
transition  from  one  exercise  to  another  may  be  rendered  more 
easy  and  solemn  by  a  musical  supplication  or  ascription.  The 
collection  of  offerings  may  be  accompanied  by  a  fit  musical 
petition  or  dedication.  The  sermon  may  be  prefaced  or  fol- 
lowed by  a  musical  sentence  referring  to  the  Truth  or  the 
Gospel,  or  to  the  particular  theme  of  the  discourse  itself.  Some 
of  these  choir  sentences  may  be  strictly  impressive,  some 
strictly  expressive,  being  offered  in  the  name  of  the  people, 
and  some  may  combine  the  two  qualities. 

The  third  lack  that  choir  music  may  supply  is  of  such  musical 
settings  of  Scriptural  texts  as  shall  illumine  their  meaning  and 
stamp  them  upon  the  memory  of  the  congregation.  That  music 
is  able  to  supplement  the  mere  words  of  a  Biblical  or  other 
text,  so  as  to  make  it  distinctly  more  effective,  is  a  fact  some- 
w^hat  generally  conceded.  No  further  proof  need  be  cited 
than  the  well-known  light  and  power  that  has  been  thrown  by 
music  upon  the  sacred  narratives  embodied  in  the  oratorios 
"  The  Messiah,"  "  The  Passion  Music,"  and  "  Elijah,"  not  to 
speak  of  a  host  of  lesser  works.  What  is  thus  done  upon  a 
large  scale  may  be  done  upon  a  small  scale  by  short  choii* 
sentences.  When  brought  out  by  suitable  music  and  rendered 
with  skill  and  feeling,  many  a  choice  fragment  of  Holy  Writ 
may  thus  find  a  home  in  the  memory  of  thoughtless  listeners, 
or  penetrate  the  skeptical  armor  of  some  unbeliever,  or  fall 
like  balm  upon  some  wounded  spirit. 

Just  as  our  first  practical  conclusion,  as  respects  the  struct- 
ure of  the  choir,  was  that  its  members  could  not  perform 
their  sacred  duties  without  being  actually  worshipers,  so  here 
our  inevitable  conclusion  is  that  choir  music  cannot  perform 
its  mission  unless  the  greatest  care  is  exercised  about  the  texts 
that  are  chosen.  The  indiscriminate  use  of  any  text  that  has 
a  churchly  flavor,  or  even  of  texts  that  are  only  commended  by 
the  sweet  or  stately  music  that  is  adapted  to  them,  is  very 
objectionable.  None  but  such  texts  as  shall  distinctly  supply 
one  of  the  three  lacks  just  named  should  be  used ;  and  none  of 


454  WORSHIP 

these  should  be  placed  at  any  point  in  the  service  without  care- 
ful consideration  of  its  fitness  and  effectiveness  in  connection 
with  what  precedes  and  follows  it.  What  may  be  most  valu- 
able as  a  climax  of  several  acts  of  prayer  and  praise,  when  the 
feelings  of  the  people  have  been  stirred  into  enthusiasm,  may  be 
totally  inapt  and  useless  as  an  introductory  exercise.  The  elab- 
orate anthems  often  placed  in  the  forefront  of  a  service,  being 
in  no  sense  preparatory,  but  rather  confirmatory  or  completive, 
natui^ally  degenerate  into  the  '^  show-pieces"  that  they  are  vul- 
garly supposed  to  be.  All  such  pieces  should  be  imbedded  in 
the  body  of  the  service,  where  their  connection  with  the  acts 
of  congregational  prayer  and  praise  may  be  obvious.  There 
is  a  crying  need  of  a  systematic  study  of  actual  texts  of 
anthems  on  the  part  of  choir-masters,  composers,  and  publish- 
ers, with  a  view  to  determine  how  far  and  when  each  is  suit- 
able, and  to  classify  them  accordingly.  Collections  of  anthems 
should  be  arranged  by  topic,  so  that  a  rational  selection  may 
be  easily  made.  Great  care  should  be  taken  to  distinguish 
between  the  different  kinds  of  choir  music,  so  that  the  mental 
attitude  of  the  singers  shall  be  adapted  to  what  they  are  doing. 
No  pains  can  be  too  great  to  secure  a  delicate  adjustment  of 
anthems  and  sentences  to  the  parts  of  the  service  next  to  them ; 
for  half  the  effectiveness  of  an  exercise  of  public  worship  is 
due  to  its  full  union  and  harmony  with  its  fellows. 

If  the  texts  of  choir  pieces  deserve  the  importance  here  given 
them,  they  certainly  require  such  a  rendering  as  shall  make 
them  entirely  intelligible  to  the  hearer.  The  horrible  mangling 
of  the  words  that  is  sometimes  heard  in  church  is  as  inartistic 
as  it  is  undevotional.  It  defeats  all  right  intentions.  It  shows 
a  slovenly  and  stupid  spirit  in  the  performer  and  in  the  trainer. 
It  completely  emasculates  the  exercise  of  all  that  intellectual 
quality  that  for  the  sake  of  the  hearer  it  ought  to  have.  It  is 
fundamentally  opposed  to  every  proper  theory  of  what  choir 
music  is  for.  Even  when  the  enunciation  of  the  singers  is 
clear,  it  is  an  excellent  plan  to  have  the  text  of  an  anthem 
announced  beforehand  from  the  pulpit,  particularly  if  in  so 
doing  the  minister  can  add  a  word  that  shall  give  it  a  neater 
setting  in  relation  to  the  other  exercises  of  the  service.  Another 
excellent  plan  for  churches  whose  customs  are  weU  settled  is 


THE    CHOIR  455 

to  put  printed  copies  of  the  various  anthems  that  form  the 
church's  repertoire  into  the  pews,  and  have  the  anthem 
announced  by  number  like  a  hymn.  This  plan  is  in  success- 
ful use  in  some  of  the  English  cathedrals. 

A  word  may  be  added  about  the  treatment  that  a  choir 
should  receive  from  the  congregation  which  it  serves.  Every 
trace  of  the  antiquated  notion  that  the  choir  is  the  foe  of  the 
congregation  should  be  banished.  The  people  should  endeavor 
to  help  the  singers  by  giving  them  the  support  of  hearty 
respect  and  sympathy  in  whatever  they  do.  The  habit  of 
criticising  the  choii'^s  performances  as  a  reporter  criticises  a 
concert  is  mischievous  and  unchristian.  The  question  about 
an  anthem  is  not,  "  Was  it  beautiful  ? "  or,  "  Was  it  finely 
sung  ?  "  but,  ''  Was  it  devotionally  impressive  ?  Was  it  suc- 
cessful in  moving  the  feeling  of  the  congregation  ? "  If  the 
average  choir  could  but  feel  that  the  congregation  expected 
spiritual  quickening  from  their  performances,  they  would 
have  a  mighty  incentive  to  care  and  earnestness,  where  now 
they  are  content  only  to  amuse  or  win  applause.  The  eleva- 
tion of  choir  music  into  the  sphere  of  noble  usefulness  that 
belongs  to  it  must  come  not  only  through  greater  care  in  the 
selection  of  singers  and  of  music,  but  also  through  a  revolu- 
tion in  the  prevalent  popular  requirements  from  choh's.  The 
churches  can  have  what  they  want,  but  they  must  vehemently 
want  something  because  they  know  it  is  good. 


VIII 
HYMN-BOOKS 

THE  old-fashioned  hymn-book,  without  music,  has  passed 
away.  All  our  current  hymnals  take  the  responsibility 
of  linking  hymns  and  tunes  together,  "  for  better,  for  worse." 
This  fact,  which  vastly  increases  the  practical  difficulty  of 
choosing  a  hymn-book,  obliges  ns  to  speak  of  hymn-books 
first  as  collections  of  hymns,  and  second  as  collections  of 
tunes. 

First.  In  pioneer  work,  and  in  certain  phases  of  established 
church  life.  Like  the  Sunday-school,  the  church  hymnal  may 
yet,  to  a  limited  extent,  be  both  a  general  collection  of  relig- 
ious poetry  and  a  special  channel  of  doctrinal  instruction; 
but  in  an  organized  congregation,  sacred  poetry  and  dogmatic 
theology  may  be  studied  to  better  advantage  elsewhere.  The 
time  has  come  to  make  the  church  hymnal  simply  a  specialized 
hand-book  for  one  kind  of  public  worship.  A  hymnal  evidently 
ought  to  contain  only  such  poems  as  are  suitable  for  insertion 
into  the  regular  order  of  stated  public  worship  as  poetical 
expressions  of  the  sentiments  that  may  be  expected  to  demand 
utterance  in  an  assembly  of  Christian  worshipers.  We  may 
safely  insist  that  these  poems  shaU  have  lyric  beauty,  an 
expressive  tone  or  method,  adaptation  to  the  use  of  stated 
Christian  gatherings,  and  feasibility  for  musical  rendering. 
Let  us  examine  these  qualities  in  order. 

1.  The  point  has  often  been  discussed  whether  a  high 
degree  of  strictly  i>oetic  excellence  is  compatible  with  the 
conditions  of  ecclesiastical  or  even  of  religious  poetry.  Even 
our  best  collections  of  hymns  are  strikingly  deficient  in  really 
fine  poetry,  and  some  hymns  that  are  very  popular  are  open , 
to  grave  literary  objections.  Yet,  happily,  many  hymns  do 
rise  to  a  decided  literary  merit,  and  it  often  seems  that  we 
should  have  more  fine  hymns  if  popular  taste  were  only  dis- 
criminating enough  to  encourage  them.  It  is  certainly  not 
too  much  to  ask  that  hymns  shall  have  unity  and  balance  of 


HYMN-BOOKS  457 

structure,  sonority  and  taste  of  diction  and  versification, 
aptness  and  delicacy  of  metaphor,  dignity  and  precision  of 
thought,  spiritual  depth,  and  general  originality  and  individ- 
uality. Instead  of  running  the  risk  of  offense  by  mentioning 
unpoetical  hymns,  we  will  simply  cite  a  few  hymns  that  are 
both  beautiful  and  useful.  Ellerton's  '^  Saviour,  again  to  Thy 
dear  name  '^  exhibits  a  decided  structural  perfection ;  Mont- 
gomery's paraphrase  of  the  seventy-second  Psalm,  "Hail  to 
the  Lord's  Anointed,"  has  much  verbal  magnificence ;  Watts's 
^^  O  God,  our  help  in  ages  past,"  is  surely  majestic  in  its  ren- 
dering of  the  thought  of  the  ninetieth  Psalm ;  Ray  Palmer's 
"  My  faith  looks  up  to  Thee "  is  conceded  to  be  a  model  of 
spirituality  in  hymn- writing ;  How's  splendid  marching  hjTnn, 
'•  For  all  the  saints,  who  from  their  labors  rest,"  is  sufficiently 
original  and  individual  to  rank  as  one  of  the  best  of  the 
battle-hymns  of  the  Church  Universal. 

Hymn-writing  easily  degenerates  into  machine-work.  The 
pioneers  of  English  hymnody  did  much  such  work,  though 
they  should  not  be  blamed  for  the  sins  of  their  imitators.  The 
modern  English  hymns  need  careful  sifting,  for  the  very  force 
of  the  recent  enthusiasm  for  fine  hymns  has  brought  out  many 
pretentious  echoes  that  deserve  rebuke.  The  same  is  true  of 
the  Latin  and  German  hymns, —  clever  patchwork  often  resem- 
bling real  poetic  creation.  While  it  is  hard  to  set  up  any 
definite  standard  of  technical  perfection  by  which  to  try  our 
hymns,  it  is  possible  to  create  a  demand  for  books  that  shall 
be  critically  edited  in  this  regard,  and  to  encourage  the  minute 
study  of  hymns  with  reference  to  their  structure  and  elegance. 

2.  That  hymns,  which  belong  to  the  genus  of  lyrical  poetry 
and  are  intended  for  use  in  collective  public  worship,  should 
be  strongly  expressive  of  feeling,  rather  than  didactic  or 
descriptive,  would  seem  to  be  a  truism ;  yet  a  large  proportion 
of  our  ordinary  hymns  might  more  properly  be  addressed  to 
the  worshiper  than  uttered  by  him.  If  impressive  hymns 
w^ere  always  sung  by  a  choir  they  would  not  be  so  objection- 
able, though  their  right  to  a  place  in  a  hymnal  might  be  dis- 
puted. What  is  wanted  are  hymns  of  utterance,  having  a 
burden  of  outspoken  adoration  or  thanksgiving,  of  trust  or 
consecration,  of  confession  or  petition.   Didactic  or  descriptive 


458  WORSHIP 

matter  may  be  introduced  into  such  hymns  for  the  sake  of 
clearness,  but  its  subordination  should  be  obvious.  All  the 
earlier  English  hymnists  indulged  in  the  didactic  and  horta- 
tory style  too  much  5  their  hymns  are  really  addresses  by  the 
writer  to  Christian  congregations,  very  excellent  in  their  way, 
but  wholly  out  of  place  in  modern  hymnals.  Hymns  of  self- 
exhortation  or  of  mutual  encouragement  are  much  less  objec- 
tionable. A  preponderance  of  strictly  personal  hymns,  using 
the  first  personal  pronoun,  is  undesirable,  because  it  stultifies 
the  act  of  collective  utterance.  The  use  of  Biblical  phrase- 
ology is  eminently  useful,  both  for  its  elevation  of  the  general 
tone  of  thought  and  for  its  indirect  extension  of  familiarity 
with  the  Book.  Even  very  intense  forms  of  expression  may 
occur,  for  the  enthusiasm  of  a  fervent  congregation  can  make 
use  of  the  utmost  powers  of  language  without  exaggeration. 

3.  Hymns  should  be  selected  for  hymnals  with  constant 
reference  to  the  actual  requirements  of  chui'ch  worship.  Our 
ordinary  services  provide  for  three  hymns,  and  it  would  seem 
that  some  difference  might  customarily  be  made  between  them ; 
but  it  is  rare  to  find  any  attempt  made  in  hymnals  to  mark 
such  a  difference.  At  least  we  might  have  some  demarcation 
between  general,  objective  hymns,  which  are  hymns  of  the 
church  as  a  whole,  and  personal,  subjective  hymns,  which  are 
hymns  of  the  individual  Christian.  Our  hymnals  tend  too 
much  to  the  latter  class.  The  result  is  that  our  hymn-singing 
does  not  stir  enough  the  sentiments  of  enthusiasm  and  exul- 
tation over  the  church  as  an  institution,  as  an  organized  power, 
as  a  conquering  army.  We  need  more  peans  of  joyful  conse- 
cration, more  battle-hymns,  more  triumph-songs. 

After  what  has  been  said  about  congregational  singing,  it 
is  needless  to  urge  that  a  hymnal  should  be  prepared  exclu- 
sively for  use  by  the  congregation.  Hymns  for  choir  render- 
ing, hymns  for  pulpit  reading,  and  hymns  for  domestic  and 
private  devotion  should  be  left  for  other  collections.  The  one 
purpose  of  a  church  hymnal  should  be  to  furnish  words  that 
may  appropriately  be  used  in  congregational  exercises. 

4.  The  necessity  of  fitting  metrical  tunes  to  hymns  sug- 
gests the  simple  remark  that  irregular  odes,  and  poems 
whose  clauses  run  over  frequently  from  line  to  line,  and  all 
uneuphonious  verses  are  unsuitable  for  a  hymnal. 


HYMN-BOOKS  459 

Second.  When  we  turn  from  the  subject  of  hymns  to  that 
of  tunes,  we  pass  over  into  a  much  less  obvious  field.  A  whole 
book  might  be  written  about  hymn-tunes,  and  such  a  book  is 
perhaps  needed.  One  is  dismayed  at  the  popular  ignorance 
about  tunes,  and  the  strength  of  many  opinions  that  are 
founded  merely  upon  tradition  or  prejudice.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  steady  progress  can  be  made  in  this  feature  of  church 
music  until  more  information  has  become  generally  dissemi- 
nated. We  will  here  urge  simply  that  hymn-tunes  ought  to  be 
musically  good,  that  they  should  be  adapted  to  the  hymns 
mth  which  they  are  associated,  and  that  they  should  be  fitted 
for  congregational  rendering. 

1.  Tunes  may  be  classified  as  chorales,  harmonized  airs, 
and  part-songs.  Chorales  are  distinguished  by  a  slow  move- 
ment, strong  harmony,  and  special  emphasis  upon  the  succes- 
sive chords  as  chords.  Harmonized  airs  sacrifice  other  qualities 
to  the  setting  forth  of  a  melody,  the  other  voices  being  added 
merely  for  accompaniment.  Part-songs  seek  to  develop  each 
of  the  voice-parts  into  true  melodies,  and  yet  at  the  same  time 
to  produce  solid  harmonies ;  the  movement  is  usually  quite 
brisk.  Of  course  these  classes  shade  into  each  other,  and  the 
traits  of  each  may  appear  in  a  single  tune.  We  are  just  emerg- 
ing from  the  time  when  the  harmonized  air  was  the  prevailing 
fashion.  Farther  back  in  our  history  the  old  English  or  old 
American  chorale,  dignified,  strong,  and  correct,  was  the  rule. 
We  are  gradually  learning  to  sing  many  of  the  newer  English 
part-songs  with  satisfaction.  It  would  be  well  if  our  hymnals 
should  gradually  discard  all  tunes  that  are  not  essentially 
constructed  upon  either  the  chorale  or  the  part-song  principle. 
The  harmonized  air  is  an  immature  form  of  composition, 
suitable  to  some  extent  in  special  services,  but  not  dignified 
enough  for  congregational  singing. 

Machine-work  is  only  too  common  in  tunes  as  weU  as  in 
hymns.  Many  of  our  so-called  ^^  standard  "  American  tunes, 
with  not  a  few  of  the  English  tunes,  both  old  and  new,  are 
painfully  mechanical.  The  extensive  use  of  promiscuous 
adaptations  of  music  from  various  sources  has  still  further 
lowered  the  tone  of  current  tunology.  It  has  evidently  been 
thought  that  originality  in  tunes  was  impossible  or  undesirable. 
In  rebuttal  of  this  notion,  one  need  but  mention  the  astonishing 


460  WORSHIP 

fertility  and  success  of  the  late  Dr.  Dykes  as  a  tune-composer. 
In  a  general  way  every  tune  ought  to  commend  itself  by  some 
special  beauty  either  of  melody,  harmony,  or  part- writing,  so 
that  it  may  easily  and  pleasurably  be  remembered. 

2.  The  best  tunes  ai^e  usually  written  for  some  particular 
hymn,  and  thus  have  a  striking  expressive  fitness.  But  it  is 
not  expedient  to  have  a  tune  for  every  hymn.  Indeed,  it  is 
not  necessary,  for  many  hymns  in  the  same  meter  and  having 
the  same  emotional  tone  may  fitly  be  sung  to  the  same  tune. 
An  effort  should  be  made,  however,  to  avoid  a  constant  shift- 
ing of  adaptation.  Particular  care  is  needed  that  the  tone  of 
hymn  and  tune  shall  always  correspond.  Some  editors  quite 
overlook  the  expressiveness  of  music,  and  try  combinations  of 
jubilant  tunes  with  plaintive  hymns,  for  instance,  with  melan- 
choly results. 

3.  What  tunes  are  fitted  for  congregational  singing  of 
course  depends  upon  the  congregation.  Owing  to  the  preva- 
lent ignorance  about  reading  music  at  sight  and  the  incompe- 
tence of  leaders,  there  is  considerable  timidity  upon  this  point. 
A  new  tune  is  approved  for  congregational  singing  when  it 
has  been  learned  and  sung  by  an  actual  congregation.  The 
testimony  of  such  an  experiment,  however,  is  generally 
received  with  great  caution,  on  the  ground  that  the  circum- 
stances must  be  in  some  way  unusual.  Yet  it  may  be  con- 
fidently asserted  that  the  powers  of  popular  acquisition  of 
new  tunes  are  much  underestimated.  A  good  leader,  if  he 
commands  the  confidence  of  the  people,  can  make  good  music 
a  success. 

The  following  details,  however,  may  be  suggested  as  making 
tunes  feasible  for  congregational  use.  The  harmony  should  be 
strong,  the  chords  not  too  much  inverted,  the  modulations 
simple,  extreme  discords  avoided.  The  melody  should  move 
without  long  skips  or  many  slurs,  and  the  repetition  of  several 
syllables  to  the  same  tone  is  undesirable.  Single  voice  parts 
should  not  range  over  more  than  nine  or  ten  notes  in  any  one 
tune.  Tunes  should  be  transposed  by  editors  or  by  organists 
so  that  the  soprano  and  tenor  shall  not  rise  higher  than  E. 
The  rhythm  of  successive  lines  should  not  be  sharply  different. 
Duple  and  quadruple  rhythms  are  the  best,  but  triple  rhythms 


HYMN-BOOKS  4G1 

with  each  pulse  marked  by  a  note  are  usually  good.  The  con- 
struction of  a  tune  should  be  musicianly  enough  to  admit  of 
its  being  sung  at  a  slow  tempo,  without  becoming  tedious,  or 
of  being  played  at  a  quick  tempo,  without  becoming  trivial. 

With  the  above  general  hints  about  the  hymns  and 
tunes  that  should  be  sought  for  in  a  church  hymnal,  we 
turn  to  the  general  form  of  the  book.  Almost  every  one 
agrees  that  most  of  our  current  collections  are  too  large  and 
too  expensive.  This  is  partly  a  result  of  traditional  ideas  of 
what  a  hymnal  ought  to  contain,  and  partly  an  attempt  to 
adapt  the  same  book  to  the  tastes  of  several  different  constitu- 
encies. An  incidental  gain  in  a  small  book  is  its  compactness 
and  lightness  in  the  hand.  In  the  page-arrangement,  care 
should  be  taken  that  the  tune  belonging  to  a  given  hymn 
should  be  near  it.  The  type  of  both  words  and  music  should 
be  clear  enough  for  use  in  dim  light.  It  is  very  desirable  that 
some  data  regarding  the  source  or  authorship  or  period  of  both 
hymns  and  tunes  should  be  given  in  immediate  juxtaposition 
with  them,  so  that  even  the  casual  user  shall  have  some  notion 
of  the  class  to  which  they  belong. 

In  using  a  hymnal,  considerable  pains  may  be  profitably 
spent  in  laying  out  a  scheme  of  progressive  selection  of  both 
hymns  and  tunes,  so  that  the  available  material  of  a  given 
book  may  be  fully  utilized,  and  so  that  the  congregation  may 
acquire  the  habit  of  studying  and  using  new  examples  of 
both.  A  hap-hazard  selection  is  to  be  condemned  upon  every 
ground. 

The  selection  of  a  hymn-book  is  not  an  easy  matter.  It  is 
usually  made  by  a  committee  who  briefly  and  superficially 
examine  several  books,  and  then  content  themselves  with  tak- 
ing testimony  upon  their  practical  utility.  The  whole  ques- 
tion may  turn  at  the  last  upon  some  foolish  point  about  the 
binding  or  the  type.  Anything  like  a  systematic  comparison 
of  books  requires  a  laborious  analysis.  Yet  the  improvement 
of  hymnals  can  be  hastened  only  by  insisting  upon  having  such 
analyses  made  and  by  choosing  the  book  that  shows  a  statis- 
tical advantage  in  important  respects  over  its  competitors. 


IX 
RESPONSIVE    SERVICES 

READING  of  Holy  Scripture  by  minister  and  congregation 
responsively,  not  known  outside  of  prelatical  churclies 
in  the  days  of  our  fathers,  has  in  recent  years  entered  into  the 
usage  of  a  great  number  of  congregations.  The  report,  in 
1886,  to  the  General  Association  of  Massachusetts,  from  the 
State  Committee  on  the  Work  of  the  Churches,  shows  that 
out  of  four  hundred  and  twenty-two  Congregational  churches 
from  which  statistics  on  this  point  had  been  received  by  the 
accurate  and  diligent  secretary  of  the  committee,  this  mode 
was  in  use  in  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  —  nearly  one-third. 
Presbyterian  statistics  are  lacking,  but  that  denomination  is 
known  to  have  a  strong  though  less  developed  tendency  in  the 
same  direction. 

Like  all  innovations  in  the  externals  of  the  church,  this 
arouses  strenuous  opposition  through  mere  prejudice  iiTespee- 
tive  of  its  intrinsic  good  or  evil  —  a  prejudice  most  amenable  to 
reason.  But  there  is  also  a  class  of  objections  which  carry  the 
weight  of  reason  as  against  some  of  the  actual  lines  which 
the  new  method  has  taken.  It  is  to  be  conceded  that  unless  a 
distinct  gain  be  made  in  the  service  of  the  sanctuary  by  bring- 
ing in  a  multitude  of  voices,  all  utterance  is  most  wisely  left  to 
the  minister  appointed  and  trained  for  that  duty.  Those 
objectors  who  are  consulting  the  practical  edification  of  a 
worshiping  assembly  rather  than  a  prejudice  arising  from 
long  habit,  may  lose  their  objection,  or  its  force,  if  the  advo- 
cates of  this  mode  will  refrain  from  applying  it  outside  the 
limits  which  are  set  for  it  by  a  principle  fundamental  in  the 
case. 

It  is  fundamental  law  in  the  externals  of  worship,  as  in  aU 
artistic  work  in  the  higher  ranges  of  sentiment,  that  beauty 
and  impressiveness  sought  through  mere  decoration  are  always 
missed,  but  are  instantly  with  us  unsought  and  unannounced  as 
soon  as  we  make  our  form  simply  the  fit  natural  expression 

462 


RESPONSIVE    SERVICES  463 

of  our  feeling.  The  beauty  of  worship  in  common,  its  stately- 
grandeur,  its  tender  appeal,  wiU  grow  of  itself,  pervading  every 
act  in  the  house  of  God,  if  we  seek  it  only  along  natural  lines. 
To  attempt  by  various  devices,  merely  mechanical  and  formal, 
to  decorate  the  service  of  the  sanctuary  is  to  enter  on  a  search 
for  startling  novelties,  whose  crudeness  at  first  distracts  the 
mind  from  worship,  and  w^hose  accumulation  and  hardening 
through  the  passing  years  present  at  length  not  the  form  and 
body  of  a  living  worship,  but  only  its  tomb.  No  power  indeed 
can  take  from  oiu'  churches  their  liberty  in  Christ  Jesus  to  use 
any  new  methods  that  fit  new  times  or  that  meet  long-neglected 
wants  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  no  power  can  cause  the  beauty 
of  the  Lord  our  God  to  be  upon  us  in  his  sanctuary  while  we 
are  concerned  chiefly  to  carry  on  therewith  an  impressive 
show,  whether  our  show  be  architectural,  musical,  ritual, 
intellectual,  or  oratorical.  The  responsive  element  has  a  place 
in  public  service  only  as  it  can  be  shown  to  arise  as  a  natural 
expression  of  Christian  sentiment  in  a  public  assembly.  Thi'ee 
considerations  may  show  it  to  have  naturally  such  a  place. 

First  Responsive  utterance  aids  to  impress  on  the  memory 
certain  most  instructive  and  edifying  portions  of  Holy  Script- 
ure. These,  if  only  falling  from  the  pulpit  upon  the  ears  of 
the  yoimg  or  the  unthinking,  may  easily  be  unheeded  ;  but  if  all 
voices  be  called  forth  in  their  utterance,  they  will  be  more 
likely  to  fix  the  attention ;  or  in  default  of  that,  a  lodgment  of 
the  mere  words  may  be  effected  in  the  memory,  there  to  await 
the  time  for  their  resurrection  into  living  power. 

Second.  The  responsive  form  is  the  most  fitting  for  the 
presentation  of  large  portions  of  the  Word  j  indeed,  for  some 
portions  the  only  proper  form,  since  they  are  well  known  to 
have  been  composed  for  antiphonal  use  in  the  ancient  public 
service  of  God.  Beside  these  passages  composed  under  inspira- 
tion for  the  special  purpose  of  responsive  praise,  there  is  a 
large  and  most  valued  portion  of  the  Bible  which  is  anti- 
phonal,  or  echoing  and  responsive,  in  both  its  thought  and 
its  phrase.  Thought  answers  thought ;  the  words  by  a  natm-al 
law  fall  into  balancing  periods  ;  voice  echoes  voice  ;  rather,  a 
multitude  of  voices,  called  forth  by  the  inspiring  sentiment. 


464  WORSHIP 

reduplicate  and  reenforee  it,  and  by  their  multiplied  testimony 
the  words  of  truth  are  established  in  majesty. 

Third.  Responsive  exercises,  bringing  the  whole  assembly 
into  audible  utterance,  accord  with  the  whole  idea  of  a  free, 
unpriestly,  congregational  service  j  while  also  they  fulfill  the 
natural  law  that  the  rendering  of  worship  by  the  hearts  of  an 
assembly  is  greatly  aided  by  the  joining  of  all  voices  in  such 
selected  parts  as  are  intrinsically  fitted  for  that  method.  Not 
displacing  the  more  quiet  single  utterance  required  in  large 
portions  of  the  service,  the  combined  utterance  at  its  due 
time  rolls  in  its  tide  of  song  or  —  where  song  is  too  artistic  — 
of  plain  speech  j  and  the  worship  is  not  decorated,  but  simply 
liberated  to  move  in  its  own  beauty.  Indeed  it  may  be  broadly 
said  that,  whether  in  the  worshipful  or  the  didactic  parts  of  a 
Christian  service,  when  the  thought  and  the  verbal  structure 
are  responsive,  a  restraint  of  the  liberty  of  natural,  orderly 
responsive  expression  in  song  or  in  speech  is  an  invasion  of 
the  rights  of  the  congregation  for  which  no  cause  can  be 
given  more  respectable  than  a  pardonable  oversight  or  an 
unworthy  prejudice. 

This  principle  of  the  natural  fitness  of  the  responsive  mode 
in  public  service,  for  the  impression  of  truth  and  the  expres- 
sion of  worship,  indicates  also  the  limitations  which  must  be 
observed ;  for,  to  its  opponents  it  must  be  conceded  that,  out 
of  its  natural  hmits,  this  style  is  useless  and  hindering. 

Besponsive  utterance  has  7io  place  tvhere  the  material  of  the 
thought  or  sentiment,  or  the  verbal  structure,  is  not  responsive. 
This  rule  is  unfailing  in  church  service,  though  it  is  to  be 
applied  not  rigidly  to  every  sentence  in  detail,  but  to  the 
general  character  and  structure  of  a  passage.  Thus,  the 
responsiveness  which  only  makes  proper  a  responsive  utter- 
ance may  consist  in  the  actual  answering  of  one  sentence  or 
another  as  an  echo,  or  in  the  parallelism,  almost  synonymy, 
of  clause  with  clause,  or  in  the  particularization  in  one  sentence 
of  a  general  statement  in  another,  or  conversely  in  the  gene- 
ralization of  a  particular,  or  in  the  amplification,  reenforce- 
ment,  or  illustration  in  one  clause  of  the  thought  in  another, 
or  in  the  projection  in  one  of  a  strong  contrast  to  the 
other.    Beside  this  echo  or  parallel,  or  antithesis  in  both  senti- 


RESPONSIVE    SERVICES  465 

ment  and  structure,  there  is  found  in  truly  responsive  passages 
also  some  emotional  glow,  and  a  certain  verbal  quality,  recog- 
nized as  essentially  poetic,  though  presenting,  perhaps,  the 
simplest  and  most  primitive  form  of  poetry  —  its  very  primi- 
tiveness  and  simplicity,  and  lack  of  conscious  and  labored  art 
in  rhyme  or  rhythm  fitting  it  for  common  divine  worship. 

This  natural  ride  as  to  the  proper  application  of  responsive 
utterance  forbids  us  to  seek  impressiveness  by  its  use  with 
unfit  materials.  It  does  not  allow  us  to  approve  for  responsive 
reading  in  the  church,  the  narratives  which  are  so  large  a  por- 
tion of  the  Bible,  except  as  they  are  cast  in  a  lytic  form  ;  it 
does  not  admit  for  such  use  the  Epistles  in  general,  though 
these  contain  many  scattered  passages  which  would  fit  this 
use.  If  we  are  teaching  children,  or  if  we  are  striving  to 
lodge  the  Gospel  in  heathen  minds,  the  expedient  of  calling 
and  holding  the  flagging  attention  by  causing  our  hearers  to 
read  verse  by  verse  around  in  some  important  portion  of  the 
Word  may  justify  itself;  but  the  proprieties  of  a  class  of 
pupils  are  not  those  of  the  worshiping  church. 

This  natui-al  rule  indicates  to  us  as  proper  materials  the 
Psalter, —  inspii^ed  psalm-book  of  the  ancient  church  of  God, — 
and  noticeably  large  portions  of  the  book  of  Job  and  of  the 
Prophecies  ;  and,  with  these,  any  antiphonal  songs  or  prayers 
scattered  through  the  narratives.  As  to  other  antiphonal  or 
even  lyric  passages,  it  seems  probable  that  when  they  are  so 
short  as  they  usualty  are  in  the  New  Testament,  they  may  be 
more  impressively  rendered  in  their  natural  connection  by  a 
single  voice ;  inasmuch  as  their  compilation  into  a  responsive 
lesson  would  \dolently  wrench  them  out  of  place,  as  though 
they  were  being  set  up  in  martial  array  like  proof -texts  in  a 
catechism  of  doctrine,  profitable  for  warfare  rather  than  for 
kindling  or  expressing  devout  feeling.  There  are  great  ad- 
mirers of  responsive  utterance  who  would  choose  never  again 
to  hear  it  in  the  chiu-ch,  rather  than  to  hear  it  in  portions  of 
the  Word,  whose  continuous  narrative,  or  successive  steps  of 
instruction,  or  exquisite  modulations  of  sentiment,  would 
only  be  dismembered  by  its  antithesis  and  confused  by  its 
echoes,  requiring,  instead,  one  voice  in  calm,  considerate  flow. 
The  same  admirers  of  responsive  reading  would  banish  it  from 
30 


466  WORSHIP 

the  church  if  its  use  involved  in  any  large  degree  the  mincing 
up  of  the  sacred  Scripture  into  a  heap  of  fragments  snatched 
from  all  parts  of  the  Bible,  whose  divinely  natural  connection 
and  beautiful  unity  thus  are  brought  to  naught,  with  this 
eminently  harmful  result,  that  the  minds  of  worshipers  be- 
come familiarized  not  with  the  Word,  but  with  some  man's 
ingenious  mosaic  of  its  broken  particles.  We  are  called  to 
no  superstitious  reverence  for  mere  externals  of  divine  revela- 
tion, or  for  the  '^  letter  that  killeth " ;  but  neither  are  we 
called  to  kiU  the  letter:  there  is  liberty  for  us  to  use  our 
Father's  words,  not  being  slavishly  tied  to  a  chronological 
order,  nor  compelled  to  use  them  only  in  large  masses ;  but 
edification,  if  not  reverence,  will  set  some  limit  to  our  disinte- 
grating process,  at  least  in  our  public  services — certainly  for- 
bidding a  mechanical  pulverization.  Probably  a  repulsion 
from  the  injudicious  applications  of  the  responsive  mode, 
either  in  unnatural  selection  of  materials  or  in  unnatural 
arrangement  of  proper  materials,  may  furnish  the  reason  for 
opposition  to  it  on  the  part  of  those  whose  opposition  arises 
from  reason  rather  than  prejudice. 

Concerning  the  natural  arrangement  of  materials,  the  great 
rule  of  responsive  utterance  only  to  express  responsive 
thought,  whether  in  echo,  parallel,  or  antithesis,  does  not 
allow  us  to  approve  for  such  reading  —  what  for  our  own 
sake  we  should  wish  to  approve  —  the  division  of  the  Psalter 
(or  other  Scriptures)  into  the  verses  of  our  English  Bible. 
Seldom  are  the  verses  antiphonal :  the  parallels  or  responsive 
members  usually  are  within  a  verse,  or  they  are  outside  of 
any  relation  to  it.  The  reading  of  the  Psalter  by  verse  divis- 
ions,—  venerable  from  its  usage  in  the  Book  of  Common 
Prayer  in  the  Church  of  England, —  obliterating  the  Hebrew 
parallelisms  with  their  antique  beauty  and  impressive  sim- 
plicity, disregards  the  antiphonal  structure  which  is  the  chief 
reason  for  the  responsive  rendering,  and  thus  necessitates  an 
undue  length  for  united  utterance,  whence  comes  too  often  a 
racing  of  all  people  not  to  be  behind  at  the  last  word,  with  a 
liability  to  a  gabbling  effect  or  a  confused  murmur  as  in  un- 
known tongues.  These  last  liabilities  are  weU  avoided  by  an 
admirable  and  dignified  rendering  in  choral  music  so  simple 


RESPONSIVE    SERVICES  467 

that  all  can  join  in  it ;  but  this  expedient,  though  saving  dig- 
nity, does  not  restore  the  poetic  soul  of  the  response,  lost  with 
the  Hebrew  parallelism.  The  non-prelatical  churches  have 
this  great  advantage  over  the  prelatical  —  that  in  worship  we 
have  liberty,  which  we  are  using,  to  learn  from  them,  while 
practically  they  have  no  liberty,  perhaps  no  desire,  to  learn 
from  us ;  yet  it  is  wise  for  us  not  to  forget  that  a  mere  imitat- 
ing on  our  part  is  not  necessarily  learning. 

A  responsive  utterance  should  be  neither  hasty  nor  di-awl- 
iug:  it  should  be  prompt  aod  positive  in  its  beginning;  then 
deliberate,  fii-m,  and  regulated  in  its  process  —  all  voices  mov- 
ing together,  with  no  slighting  or  suppressing  the  last  sylla- 
bles of  any  words.  Convenience  and  unity  of  effect  indicate 
what  will  be  found  to  be  a  natural  law  for  plain  speech  by  a 
devout  multitude  —  that  there  should  be  generally  an  avoid- 
ance of  inflections  of  tone  and  of  all  rhetorical  expedients: 
the  exercise  is  not  a  sermon  nor  a  dramatic  reading.  The 
utterance  should  approach  a  monotone,  though  without  a 
striving  for  effect  in  that  direction.  This  rule  is  deeply 
founded,  and  has  more  importance,  probably,  than  is  com- 
monly recognized. 

As  to  the  posture  of  the  congregation  in  the  responsive 
lessons  of  the  regular  service,  no  general  rule  can  be  given 
beyond  that  supplied  by  taste  and  convenience.  Within  each 
congregation  there  should  be  uniformity.  It  may  be  sug- 
gested, however,  that  while  natural  fitness  indicates  a  rev- 
erent standing  in  the  offering  of  direct  praise  to  Almighty 
God  by  the  great  assembly,  no  such  consideration  requires 
standing  in  the  usual  responsive  readings  whose  materials 
are  not  praise  distinctively,  but  are  mingled  of  praise  and 
petition,  and  soliloquy  and  devout  meditation,  and  historic 
reminiscence  and  prophecy,  and  instruction  and  warning,  and 
promise  and  exhortation.  If  the  worshiping  congi'egation 
rise  in  their  song  and  in  all  acts  of  direct  praise  and  in  the 
confession  of  the  Christian  faith,  these  acts  will  be  likely  to 
gain  importance  in  their  eyes  if  their  distinctive  posture  be 
not  applied  to  other  parts  of  the  service. 

In  churches  that,  with  whatever  varieties  of  polity,  give 
prominence  to  the  Christian  fellowship  of  the  local  company 


468  WORSHIP 

of  believers,  and  that  have  usages  for  the  reception  of  new 
members  into  the  local  church,  the  responsive  element  may  be 
applied  in  such  usages  with  great  impressiveness.  The  whole 
company  of  disciples,  recognizing  with  welcome  a  new  dis- 
ciple, naturally  and  fitly  unite  their  voices  in  responses  (rather 
in  assent  or  suffrage,  with  the  minister.  Similarly  in  services 
which  accompany  the  communion  at  the  Lord's  table,  and 
which  have  as  their  main  idea  the  communion  or  fellowship 
of  believers  with  one  another  through  their  common  fellow- 
ship with  the  Lord  Jesus,  the  united  acclaim  of  the  whole 
believing  company  should  rise  at  due  intervals,  not  (in  ser- 
vices of  this  kind)  to  take  the  place  of,  but  to  join  with  and 
reenf orce,  the  testimony  from  the  pulpit.  Moreover,  the  seek- 
ing out  and  arranging  of  proper  scriptural  forms  for  such 
common  utterance  would  tend  to  turn  this  important  class  of 
fellowship  services  from  the  dry,  cold,  dogmatic,  argumenta- 
tive, or,  at  best,  sermonic  style,  to  the  warmer,  more  spiritual, 
more  edifying  expressions,  fitted  for  an  occasion  which  cele- 
brates the  gathering  of  the  fruit  of  doctrine  and  exhortation 
in  the  form  of  regenerate  souls  now  joyfully  welcomed  as 
they  enter  the  gates  of  the  earthly  Zion. 

There  remains  to  be  noted  one  important  form  of  response 
or  of  common  assent  and  congregational  suffrage,  which  has 
fallen  into  strange  disuse  —  the  often-recurring  Amen,  in 
which  a  Christian  assembly  should  join  with  their  minister  in 
acclaiming  as  their  own  all  acts  of  distinctive  prayer  and 
praise.  By  what  authority  do  so  many  Christian  congrega- 
tions dispense  with  this  united  confirmation  ?  Let  it  resound 
again  in  all  our  sanctuaries,  this  responsive  word  of  faith, 
commanded  of  God  for  his  church  under  the  old  covenant ; 
this  word  of  courage  and  assurance,  joyfully  rendered  by 
Christ's  church  as  led  by  his  apostles ;  this  word  of  final  tri- 
umph, whose  acclaim,  like  the  sound  of  many  waters  and  the 
voice  of  mighty  thunders,  came  upon  the  ears  of  him  whose 
ears  were  opened  to  the  worship  of  the  church  glorified  on 
high. 


X 

THE  LORD'S  DAY  SERVICE 

A  LL  the  diverse  theories  of  pubhc  worship,  all  the  requii*e- 
jHL  inents  of  different  regions  and  periods  —  and  of  different 
congregations  side  by  side  —  present  themselves  before  him 
who  sets  forth  to  draw  out  a  scheme  for  the  parts  and  order 
of  Divine  service.  Every  step  is  among  difficulties.  He  has 
to  give  account  to  the  tastes  of  others  —  sometimes  only 
another  name  for  their  prejudices,  a  merciless  tribunal ;  he 
has  to  reckon  with  the  ancient  liturgic  traditions  in  all  their 
solemn  dignity  as  though  the  apostles  had  estabUshed  them ; 
he  must  break  in  on  the  modern  usage  which,  in  churches  that 
boast  themselves  of  methods  extemporaneous  and  free,  has 
gTown  through  habit  into  an  unwi'itten  liturgy  —  in  some 
cases  an  evident  lethargy ;  he  has  need  to  beware,  most  of  all, 
of  his  o\\TL  tastes,  and  of  what  he  is  likely  to  deem  his  chief 
strength, —  nameh^,  his  most  careful  theories  and  his  most 
lovely  ideals. 

Probably  the  most  practicable  theory  is  that  no  theory  is 
practicable  that  aims  at  uniformity  in  public  services,  or 
applies  itself  rigidly  to  all  details ;  not  the  theory  of  ancient 
tradition  which  gives  character  to  the  worship  in  the  mediaeval 
churches  and  theu-  successors ;  nor  the  theory  of  logical  proc- 
ess of  parts,  whose  stern  and  unflinching  steps  mark  all  the 
liturgies  of  the  Calvinistic  family,  now  largely  disused  in  the 
Presbyterian  churches ;  nor  the  theory  of  aesthetic  sentiment 
whose  endeavor  for  beauty  gives  a  barren  stateliness  when 
run  into  the  antique  ecclesiastical  mold,  and  a  trivial  senti- 
ment when  run  into  modern  forms ;  nor  the  theory  of  indif- 
ference to  some  of  the  natural  laws  of  reverential  expression, 
in  which  whole  families  of  churches  have  rested  for  generations, 
thanking  God  that,  whatever  defective  worship  they  might  be 
bringing  him,  at  least  they  were  not  like  the  prelatists. 

Probably  also,  if  the  best  scheme  of  public  ser\'ice  were 
discovered,  it  woidd  be  found  capable  of  adapting  itself  to  the 

469 


470  WORSHIP 

different  wants  of  various  congregations  —  also  of  avoiding 
monotony  in  the  same  congregation  —  through  the  provision 
for  numerous  alternatives  and  omissions,  at  discretion,  while 
yet  retaining  its  identity  and  the  well-known  advantages  that 
a  familiar  usage  gains  in  worship. 

Previous  to  specific  suggestions  some  general  considerations 
have  place. 

A  complete  public  Divine  service  presents  three  main 
elements  :  The  rehearsing  of  the  Word  of  Divine  Revelation  ; 
the  direct  rendering  of  Worship  in  prayer  and  praise  to  God 
in  Christ;  the  proclamation  of  the  Gospel,  with  Christian 
instruction  and  exhortation,  addressed  to  the  assembly. 

These  three  may  be  stated  briefly,  thus  :  Scripture,  worship, 
preaching.  Some  minor  elements,  though  desirable,  need  not 
be  noted  here. 

An  order  of  service  cannot  properly  be  arranged  on  the 
principle  that  one  of  these  three  is  chief  and  should  have  such 
large  and  honorable  place  as  to  throw  the  other  two  into 
eclipse.  Such  a  principle  is  a  mistake  and  tends  to  mischief. 
The  three  elements  rightfully  are  interfused  through  one 
another  in  every  act  in  the  Lord's  house  —  all  the  Scripture 
both  worshipful  in  spirit  and  instructive  in  effect,  all  the 
worship  both  Scriptural  in  its  source  and  flow  and  instructive 
by  illumination,  all  the  preaching  both  Scriptural  in  its  basis 
and  tendency  and  worshipful  in  its  tone.  Certain  parts  in 
the  service,  indeed,  will,  as  forms,  partake  more  prominently  of 
one  of  the  three  main  elements ;  also,  in  any  emergency,  or 
for  some  special  purpose  of  the  kingdom,  Christ  gives  his 
churches  liberty  and  the  guidance  of  the  spirit,  for  enlarge- 
ment in  one  kind  of  activity  with  reduction  in  other  kinds ; 
but  regularly  all  should  have  their  place  and  an  equal  honor. 
The  mistake  above  adverted  to  has  on  the  one  hand  so  exalted 
worship  that  preaching  has  been  reduced  to  a  thing  of  naught ; 
on  the  other  hand  it  has  so  magnified  the  sermon  —  turning 
even  the  prayers  and  songs  mostly  into  preachments  —  that 
God's  worship  has  almost  failed  of  any  proper  and  direct 
expression  in  his  house,  being  left  to  be  reached  by  inference 
by  whomsoever  had  sufficient  capacity  in  that  regard.  Like- 
wise there  have  been  periods  —  now  happily  past  —  in  which 


THE    LORD'S    DAY    SERVICE  471 

grand  discourses  of  mighty  reasoners  about  the  Gospel,  enforc- 
ing deep  systems  of  theology,  have  resounded  in  the  sanctuaries, 
while  whole  generations  have  entered  and  forever  gone  forth 
thence,  scarcely  hearing  —  except  in  such  fragments  as  might 
serve  the  need  of  the  sermon  —  the  living  oracles,  the  words 
of  the  Lord  and  his  apostles  in  their  large  connection  and  their 
strong  simplicity.  Have  we  not  in  our  own  day  heard  all  that 
preceded  the  sermon  called  '^  the  preliminary  exercises  ?  " 

The  rivahy  between  worship  and  preaching  for  the  highest 
place  has  arisen  probably  from  the  appeal  which  each  of  them 
is  fitted  to  make  to  some  of  the  strongest  sentiments  in  man. 
Their  appeal  is  to  different  classes  of  minds.  To  worship,  the 
arts  of  ppetry  (sometimes  only  rhyme),  of  music,  and  of  archi- 
tecture have  given  aid  fascinating  to  some  minds,  repulsive 
and  alarming  to  others ;  to  preaching  have  come  the  aids, 
equally  artificial,  of  rhetoric,  tone,  and  gesture,  with  the 
natural  fii'e  of  oratory,  with  pathos,  and  with  the  humor 
strangely  akin  to  pathos ;  and  it  is  not  clear  whether  the  lia- 
bility to  receive  such  aids,  or  the  actual  lack  of  them  in  given 
cases,  has  brought  preaching  into  disfavor  with  certain  minds, 
in  comparison  with  worship.  Both  are  di'amatic,  or  at  least 
naturally  facile  for  a  dramatic  development ;  the  imagination 
is  ready  to  lend  wings  to  both ;  in  each  is  the  liability  to 
development  by  a  fascinating  process  into  a  sphere  of  senti- 
ment and  of  sensuousness  in  which  worship  loses  its  simplicity 
and  its  foothold  of  fact,  and  preaching  loses  its  soberness  and 
honesty,  while  both  alike  lose  themselves  in  unreality  and  are 
no  more  seen.  A  still  more  dangerous  charm  of  preaching, 
liowever,  has  been  the  readiness  with  which  it  could  be  con- 
scientiously turned  aside  from  the  simple  Gospel  to  some  good 
and  wise  man's  opinions  or  arguments  about  the  Gospel  as 
these  had  hardened  into  sectarian  systems.  This  —  to  vigorous 
and  earnest  minds,  loving  to  "exercise  themselves  in  great 
matters"  rather  than  to  "quiet  themselves  as  weaned  chil- 
dren '^  before  God,  and  honestly  convinced  that  the  kingdom 
could  thrive  only  in  proportion  as  the  Gospel  was  seen  in  the 
light  of  their  respective  systems  —  has  given  an  intellectual 
delight  far  more  subtle  and  more  keen  than  the  utmost 
dramatic  height  of  either  oi*atory  or  worship  could  supply. 


472  WORSHIP 

For  purposes  of  the  theme  now  in  hand,  it  is  not  necessary 
that  we  go  so  far  as  to  deny  to  these  various  schools  of 
thought  and  these  preferences  of  individual  minds  a  right  to 
exist  in  Christ's  church.  Perhaps  they  have  the  right  to  die  of 
themselves,  and  will  exercise  that  right  sooner  if  let  alone. 
This  we  may  say  on  the  authority  of  Christ  —  that  with  such 
rivalries,  or  with  any  parties  concerned  therein,  Christ's 
church,  in  ordering  its  public  service  in  the  community,  has 
nothing  to  do  further  than  to  appoint  that  not  any  one  of  the 
three  great  natural  elements  of  public  divine  service  shall  be 
enfeebled  or  reduced.  Each  may  be  fully  developed  without 
fear,  while  the  other  two  have  equal  honor. 

As  to  the  arrangement  of  parts,  the  following  suggestions 
are  offered : 

It  is  probably  best  that  the  first  words  in  the  service  should 
be  from  the  minister,  as  the  leader  authorized  by  the  church ; 
it  is  probably  best  also  that  the  first  words  heard  should  be 
distinctively  introductory  to  the  sacred  hour  and  scene  -,  it  is 
probably  best,  moreover,  that  these  few  words  be  a  sentence 
of  Holy  Scripture.  The  inspired  utterance  best  authenticates 
the  exercises  following;  it  is  the  surest  key-note;  it  tends 
more  than  human  speech  or  song  to  gain  reverent  attention. 
Also,  being  familiar,  it  is  fitted  to  mental  and  spiritual  states 
not  instantly  ready  in  these  first  moments  to  enter  fully  into 
other  offices-  of  prayer  or  praise.  The  scriptural  opening  is 
certainly  preferable  to  what  is  called  the  '^  opening  piece  "  of 
music  —  too  often  musically  more  an  attempt  than  a  success, 
and  when  well  rendered  as  music  and  as  worship,  then  out  of 
place  as  an  extended  and  elaborate  performance  at  tliis 
threshold  of  entrance.  Elaborate  musical  parts,  if  desired, 
should  be  introduced  later  in  response  to  some  lesson  from 
the  Scriptures  or  to  the  prayers.  After  the  sentence  from  the 
pulpit,  the  musical  response  should  be  simple  and  short  —  a 
sentence  from  the  Bible,  chanted  by  aU,  or  the  familiar  Dox- 
ology  as  a  call  to  praise —  ^^  Praise  God,  from  whom  aU  bless- 
ings flow." 

Our  Lord's  summary  of  the  Law  of  God,  or  the  Beatitudes, 
from  his  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  may  well  follow  the  opening 
sentences  —  frequently,  if  not  in  every  service.     The  Calvin- 


THE    LORD'S    DAY    SERVICE  473 

istic  idea,  imported  into  the  Liturgy  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, is  good  —  to  get  early  in  the  service  of  the  Gospel  a  firm 
foothold  on  the  Law ;  but  for  constant  use  the  Law  at  the 
lips  of  the  Son  of  G-od  is  better  than  at  the  lips  of  Moses,  not 
only  for  its  brevity,  as  being  a  later  and  revised  edition,  but 
more  for  its  supreme  expression  of  the  living  spirit  and  of  the 
inmost  meaning  of  the  Decalogue  from  him  who  is  to  us  the 
whole  Law  in  person. 

A  hymn,  introductory  or  other,  may  then  be  sung. 

The  minister  may  then  read  from  the  Old  Testament ;  after 
which,  minister  and  congregation  may  read  responsively  from 
the  Psalms,  or  from  any  psalm-like  portions  (mostly  in  the 
Old  Testament)  whose  structure  is  suited  for  such  antiphonal 
or  echoing  utterance. 

A  psalm  of  praise,  chanted  by  all,  in  words  and  music 
which  frequent  use  may  make  familiar,  fitly  concludes  this 
Old  Testament  portion  of  the  service. 

The  minister  may  then  read  from  the  New  Testament, 
either  in  the  Gospels  or  in  the  word  of  Christ's  apostles,  or  in 
both. 

At  this  point,  when  all  hearts  have  been  led  upward  through 
the  teaching  and  the  worshi23  according  to  the  Old  Testament, 
and  have  now  risen  into  the  New,  with  its  more  mighty  and 
tender  revelation  of  God  in  his  Son,  it  is  natural  and  most 
fitting  that  those  who  are,  or  are  willing  now  to  become, 
Christ's  disciples  should  stand,  and  openly,  with  full  voice, 
confess  their  Christian  faith,  in  the  words  of  one  of  the  an- 
cient ^'  creeds." 

Such  Christian  confession  joyfully  and  instantly  merges 
into  a  song  of  high  praise  —  preferably  some  Christian  ascrip- 
tion, giving  all  blessing  and  eternal  glory  to  the  God  of  grace, 
the  Father  and  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit. 

After  such  preparation  of  the  worshipers  through  instruc- 
tions from  the  word,  and  offices  of  united  praise  and  faith, 
the  chief  prayers  of  the  service  now  have  place ;  moving  with 
the  successive  (always  brief)  steps  of  adoration,  thanksgiv- 
ing, confession  of  sins,  vow,  supplication,  intercession,  plea 
(through  Christ),  ascription  to  God.  ^Vll  these  short  prayers, 
ending,  may  be  summed  up  in  the  prayer  which  oui*  Lord  has 


474  WORSHIP 

taught  us  to  say  when  we  pray.  At  the  end  of  all  the  prayer 
that  precedes  the  Lord's  Prayer  (and  of  other  prayers,  and  of 
all  songs  of  praises  and  giving  of  thanks  in  the  service),  the 
Amen  should  be  heard  from  all  —  their  united  suffrage  and 
consent.  Some  form  of  the  ancient  Litany  may  profitably  be 
used  instead  of  the  extemporaneous  prayers  above  noted,  at 
the  service  with  the  communion,  and  perhaps  at  other  times ; 
but  while  it  is  proper  that  individual  Christians  be  asked  to 
yield  their  objections  to  it  in  deference  to  a  general  wish,  it 
is  evident  that  such  a  form  will  fail  to  be  edifying  and  should 
not  be  persisted  in,  unless  its  use  can  gain  the  consent  of  the 
great  body  of  worshipers. 

The  benevolent  offerings  of  the  congregation,  for  the  needy 
and  for  the  advance  of  Christ's  kingdom,  should  now  be  made. 
This  united  offering  is  a  free  gift  to  God,  an  act  of  worship, 
setting  its  seal  to  the  sincerity  of  the  prayers  just  before  ut- 
tered ;  since  it  is  in  furtherance  of  the  objects  for  which  the 
prayers  were  made.  During  the  offering  (not  a  contribution 
for  mere  current  expenses)  appropriate  Scripture  sentences 
may  be  slowly  recited  by  the  minister,  who,  at  the  end  when 
the  offering  has  been  deposited,  may  —  in  behalf  of  all,  now 
standing — render  it  to  God  in  a  few  words  of  prayer  and 
blessing:  the  blessing  may,  if  preferred,  be  sung  by  all  in 
familiar  words. 

The  distinctively  worshipful  of&ces  now  end  with  a  hymn 
of  praise  in  familiar  words  and  tune,  so  frequently  recurring 
that  all  may  join  in  them,  and  always  ending  with  a  Doxology 
to  God  as  one,  the  Father  and  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Any  notices  of  matters  proper  to  be  brought  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  congregation  may  here  be  given ;  after  which  the 
sermon  is  preached,  followed  by  a  few  words  of  prayer,  a 
closing  hymn,  and  a  scriptural  benediction.  As  the  benedic- 
tion ends,  the  congregation  may  join  in  the  solemn  and  full 
Amen. 

When  there  is  ministration  of  baptism  to  little  childi*en,  or 
reception  of  new  members  into  the  church,  those  special  serv- 
ices properly  take  the  place  of  the  usual  confession  of  Chris- 
tian faith  (or  ^^ creed");  when  the  communion  at  the  Lord's 
table  is  observed,  it  properly  ends  the  service,  following  the 


THE    LORD'S    DAY    SERVICE  475 

sermon  (if  any),  or  taking  the  place  of  the  sermon  and  all 
after  it. 

If  a  shorter  and  more  simple  service  be  desired,  there  may 
be  various  omissions  from  the  above  —  notably,  the  summary 
of  the  Law,  or  the  Beatitudes  5  the  Scripture  lesson  from  the 
Old  Testament,  for  the  Old  Testament  is  presented  also  in 
the  responsive  lesson  and  the  psalm  chant,  the  creed,  and  the 
ascription  that  follows  it. 

May  the  suggestion  be  allowed  that  churches  should  pause 
before  establishing  a  full  order  of  service,  and  prescribing  all 
its  details  by  imperative  rule?  The  use  of  such  parts  and 
order  as  may  be  deemed  proper  and  edifying  may  be  allowed 
by  silent  consent ;  thus  an  order  of  service  may  be  permitted 
to  establish  itself  only  as  it  can  prove  itself  helpful  in  actual 
use.  To  establish  uniformity  and  an  invariable  usage  by 
church  law,  tends  toward  ritualism,  which,  whether  or  not 
helpful  to  some  worshipers,  is  liable  to  be  a  burden  to  many. 

Let  all  things  be  done  decently  and  in  order,  yet  all  things 
chiefly  for  the  use  of  edifying ;  that  in  all  things  Christ  Jesus 
may  have  honor  in  all  the  churches  of  the  saints. 


XI 

THE    CHRISTIAN    YEAR 

ALL  tlie  days  of  a  Christian  Life  are  consecrated  to  God. 
_  No  one  day,  therefore,  is  to  be  held  in  superstitions  regard, 
or  made  holy  in  an 3^  sense  that  leaves  other  days  unholy. 

Yet  God's  ordinances  in  the  frame  of  the  natural  world  and 
in  the  constitution  of  man,  and  more  expressly  in  Holy  Script- 
lu-e,  show  the  fitness  and  the  benefit  of  assigning  special  times 
to  special  thoughts  of  devotion.  The  weekly  and  the  annual 
Sabbaths,  divinely  commanded  in  the  church  of  the  old 
covenant,  though  transfigured  by  the  Gospel,  have  never  been 
abrogated.  The  ancient  weekly  Sabbath  enriched  with  new 
meaning  by  Christ's  victorious  resurrection,  and  correspond- 
ingly changed  in  its  period,  became  the  Lord's  Day  ;  and  the 
same  sentiment  which,  with  no  recorded  Divine  command,  led 
the  first  Christian  disciples  to  commemorate  the  resurrection 
of  the  Lord  by  such  new  use  of  the  chief  Hebrew  day,  may 
properly  lead  us,  as  it  undoubtedly  led  them,  to  commemorate 
by  the  use  of  other  days  the  other  grand  and  essential  facts 
of  His  Messiahship.  This  argument,  however,  can  be  used  to 
prove  nothing  beyond  our  Christian  liberty  to  use  such  other 
days  so  far  as  we  may  find  such  use  edif ;vT.ng :  the  head  of  the 
church  gives  no  authority  to  impose  theii'  observance  on  a 
church  or  an  individual,  or  to  judge  brethren  who  observe 
them  not.  Neither  has  he  given  any  authority  to  forbid  their 
use,  or  to  judge  brethren  who  observe  them.  The  Lord's  Day, 
however,  since  in  its  substance  it  was  expressly  ordained  of 
God  in  the  beginning,  is  through  all  time  to  be  held  chief  of 
days  in  the  Christian  church. 

The  many  incidental  facts  of  the  historic  Gospel,  the  lives 
of  the  apostles,  and  the  virtues  of  the  saints  whether  of  the 
Roman  or  the  Puritan  Une,  cannot  be  shown  to  have  any 
natural  place  in  the  calendar  of  the  general  church.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  deny  individual   right   concerning  themj  it  is 

476 


THE    CHRISTIAN    YEAR  477 

necessary  only  to  notice  that  their  commemoration,  though 
possibly  helpful  to  some  minds,  is  certainly  burdensome  by 
reason  of  number,  and  has  been  found  practically  injurious 
through  its  unavoidable  tendency  to  lift  the  non-essentials  in 
the  Gospel  to  rank  with  the  essential  —  human  saintship  with 
the  Divine  Messiahship. 

Having  claimed,  as  against  some  watchful  brethren,  our 
liberty  in  Christ's  church  to  commemorate  with  si^ecial  obser- 
vance the  few  essential  facts  of  his  history,  it  remains  for  us 
to  prove  that  it  is  wise  to  use  this  liberty.  The  appeal  is 
simple  and  direct  —  to  God's  natural  laws,  the  fitness  of  things, 
and  the  constitution  of  the  human  soul :  three  forms  of  an 
appeal  essentially  one. 

First  Using  the  year  with  its  successive  anniversaries  to 
commemorate  the  few  grand  Christian  facts,  chimes  in  with 
God's  natural  order.  It  consecrates  nature  with  grace.  It 
claims  aU  times  for  the  Son  of  God.  It  blesses  the  passing 
seasons  in  his  name.  It  compels  the  planet  on  which  he  was 
crucified  to  mark  in  its  vast  orbit  the  successive  stao-es  of  His 
Messiahship  from  advent  in  meekness  to  advent  in  final  glory. 
Thus  doing,  it  distinctly  claims  for  him  sovereignty  and  head- 
ship over  nature  —  for  him  in  whom  all  nature  subsists.  It 
is  no  small  thing  that  is  done  by  his  believing  church  when  it 
thus  elevates  and  spiritualizes  the  entire  order  and  process  of 
the  natural  things ;  challenging  the  whole  materialistic  degTa- 
dation  of  them  wrought  whether  by  the  ancient  paganism  or 
the  modern  worldly  thought.  This  unfaltering  presentation 
through  natural  symbols  of  the  Kingship  of  the  Victim  Christ, 
early  brought  to  bear  upon  the  mind  of  childliood,  continuously 
proceeding  on  the  pathway  of  the  years,  is  a  mode  of  influence 
too  valuable  to  be  despised  as  merely  a  poetic  sentiment,  or  to 
be  discredited  through  a  narrow  prejudice. 

Second.  Observing  the  great  anniversaries  of  our  faith  puts 
honor  on  the  historic  method,  which  God  chose  rather  than 
the  doctrinal  or  any  other  to  be  the  fundamental  method 
of  his  revelation  in  his  Son.  How  did  God  reveal  himself  to 
the  world?  Primarily  by  entering  personally  into  human 
history.  The  truth,  the  life,  was  manifested  first  personally 
in  divine  deeds  and  events.     These  are  the  massive  frame- 


478  WORSHIP 

work  of  all  our  precious  doctrines.  The  doctrines  of  the 
Gospel  the  church  may  in  no  wise  fail  to  declare  to  men,  and 
in  due  system  also )  and  this  is  best  done,  most  surely  and 
vitally,  in  their  historic  root  and  connection,  and  in  their 
historic  development.  Why  should  we  not  use  God's  way? 
In  social  life  we  observe  birthdays,  wedding  anniversaries,  and 
the  likcj  many  local  churches  observe  with  special  services 
the  date  of  foundation ;  year  by  year  the  national  anniversaries 
are  observed ;  on  Forefathers'  Day  we  recall  the  heroism  of 
the  men  who  founded  a  nation  on  Plymouth  Rock.  Such  days 
are  felt  to  be  profitable  for  special  remembrances  5  so  the 
church,  associating  the  great  truths  of  Christ's  Gospel  with 
their  memorial  days,  makes  them  vivid  and  present,  and  gives 
aid  to  men  in  fastening  these  truths  in  their  minds  and  impres- 
sing them  on  their  hearts. 

Third.  Commemorating  with  annual  observance  the  great 
facts  of  the  faith  insures  the  due  presentation  of  the  full 
circle  of  facts  which  frame  Christ's  Gospel.  A  just  perspective 
is  established.  The  grandest  things  are  projected  so  that  even 
a  casual  glance  must  note  them.  Each  passing  year  is  ordained 
to  preach  them.  No  idiosyncrasy  of  preacher  or  taste  of  hearer 
is  allowed  its  way  unchecked  in  magnifying  some  minor  truth 
or  duty  to  the  neglect  of  the  weightier.  There  stand  the 
mountain  ranges  of  saving  truth,  from  which  aU  bearings  may 
be  taken  whereby  Christian  sentiment  may  find  its  most  bene- 
ficial course.  Human  systems  of  truth,  framed  as  they  mostly 
have  been  as  implements  of  warfare,  or  as  fortresses  for  refuge, 
or  as  battle-standards — this  militancy,  alas !  not  always  against 
the  common  foe,  but  sometimes  against  brethren  in  a  strife  of 
sects  —  we  may  vainly  hope  to  see  dispensed  with  by  any 
expedient ;  for  such  human  systems  seem  to  belong  to  us  in 
our  partly  sanctified  nature.  But  a  constant  reversion  to  the 
common  historical  foundation-facts  involving  the  Gospel  in  its 
fullness  and  simplicity,  would  tend  at  least  to  check  our  one- 
sidedness  in  developing  such  systems  and  our  unchaiitableness 
in  using  them.  The  commemoration  of  the  facts  and  events 
points  to  the  divine  word  in  which  they  are  made  known,  and 
so  may  easily  be  used  to  bring  the  word  into  full  presentation 
in  the  assemblies  of  the  church. 


THE   CHRISTIAN  YEAR  479 

From  the  above  considerations  it  may  be  judged  that  the 
general  church,  which  keeps  tlie  Lord's  Day  as  divinely  ap- 
pointed,—  a  duty  transfigured  into  a  privilege, —  should  enroll 
on  its  calendar  for  any  wlio  may  find  edification  in  such  obser- 
vance, tlie  two  civic  days  of  fast  and  thanksgiving,  if  those 
be  appointed  by  the  civil  power ;  and  the  six  great  days  of 
Christ's  Messiahship  —  Nativity,  Crucifixion,  Resurrection, 
Ascension,  Pentecost,  Advent.  Of  these  six  the  dates  of  all 
except  the  first  and  last  are  traceable  as  anniversaries  of  actual 
events  in  history ;  the  date  of  the  Nativity  is  unknown,  but  we 
who  consent  to  number  all  years  backward  and  forward  from 
it  as  an  epoch,  may  consistently  join  in  the  common  usage  of 
its  celebration ;  the  Advent  looks  fii-st  backward  to  Christ's 
whole  coming  forth  from  the  Father  into  our  world,  and  for- 
ward thence  to  the  consummation  of  his  coming  in  that  Final 
Day  of  the  Revelation  of  the  Son  of  Man  for  which  all  other 
days  were  made.  Let  the  procession  of  the  years  proclaim 
him  until  earthly  years  shall  be  no  more. 


Princeton  Theoloqical  Senary  Libraries 


1    101 


2  01235  2078 


DATE  DUE 

^..,.-*-^ 

CAYLORD 

PRINTED  INU-S.A. 

